LIFE  AND  SPEECHES 


OF 


CHARLES  WARREN  FAIRBANKS. 


THE  LIFE  AND  SPEECHES 


OF 


HON.  CHARLES  WARREN  FAIRBANKS 

REPUBLICAN  CANDIDATE  FOR  VICE-PRESIDENT 


BY 

WILLIAM  HENRY  SMITH 

Author  of  History  of  Indian* 


INDIANAPOLIS 

V\M.  B    BUHFORD,  PRINTER  AND  PUBLISHER 
1904 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER.  PAGE 

I.    ANCESTRY  AND  BOYHOOD 7 

II.     SUCCESS  AS  A  LAWYER 19 

III.  HE  ENTERS  POLITICS 25 

IV.  ENTERS  NATIONAL  POLITICS 42 

V.    His  SERVICES  TO  His  PARTY 68 

VI.  His  SERVICES  TO  His  PARTY  (Continued) 77 

VII.  HE  ENTERS  THE  SENATE 97 

VIH.  THE  WAR  WITH  SPAIN 116 

IX.  THE  CONSTITUTION  AND  THE  FLAG 136 

X.  THE  JOINT  HIGH  COMMISSION 142 

XI.  THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  MCKINLEY.  .  154 

XH.  OTHER  SERVICES  IN  THE  SENATE 162 

XHL  MISCELLANEOUS  SPEECHES 173 

XIV.  MR.  FAIRBANKS  AND  ORGANIZED  LABOR 182 

XV.  His  HOME  LIFE 188 

XVI.  NOMINATED  FOR  VICE-PRESIDENT 199 

XVH.  How  HE  WAS  RECEIVED  AT  HOME 216 

XVIH.  OFFICIALLY  NOTIFIED  OF  His  NOMINATION 232 

XIX.  WHAT  Is  SAID  OF  HIM  . .  .243 


CHAPTER  I. 


ANCESTRY  AND  BOYHOOD. 

A  N"  industrious  and  toiling  farmer's  boy. 
•*  ^   A  hardworking  college  student. 

An  industrious  press  reporter. 

A  successful  lawyer. 

A  safe  and  popular  politician. 

An  able  and  distinguished  Senator. 

A  wise  and  conscientious  statesman. 

The  unanimous  choice  of  a  great  political  party 
for  the  second  office  in  the  nation. 

Such,  in  brief,  is  the  story  of  the  life  and  achieve 
ments  of  Charles  Warren  Fairbanks. 

Fifty-two  years  of  active,  busy  life;  no  idle  mo 
ments  ;  no  time  for  vacations ;  no  time  to  waste.  Al 
ways  industrious,  always  a  student,  in  his  achieve 
ments  he  has  again  emphasized  the  possibilities  that 
are  before  every  American  boy. 

On  the  farm  he  gave  the  same  earnest  and  careful 
labor  he  exhibited  in  pursuing  his  studies  in  college, 
to  his  work  as  a  lawyer,  to  his  duties  in  the  Senate. 

Never  a  self-seeker,  his  successes  and  his  honors 
have  come  to  him  because  of  his  native  ability,  his 


.-7—. 


8;  ;  JF&IKBANKS 

industry,  and  Jiis  conscientious  discharge  of  every 
duty,  whether  of  private  or  public  life. 

He  has  not  been  without  ambition,  but  his  ambi 
tion  has  been  to  do  the  very  best  he  could  in  every 
thing,  under  the  circumstances  surrounding  him.  In 
school  and  in  college  he  was  ambitious  to  utilize  every 
moment  and  gather  all  the  knowledge  he  could  in  the 
time  allotted  to  him.  As  a  press  reporter  he  was  am 
bitious  to  give  the  best  work  possible;  as  a  lawyer, 
to  win  an  honorable  success;  as  a  politician,  to  aid 
his  party  by  giving  to  the  public  through  his  speeches 
a  just,  fair-minded  and  honest  exposition  of  public 
policy.  In  the  Senate  his  ambition  has  been  to  give 
the  country  intelligent  and  enlightened  service. 

We  live  in  a  country  where  it  is  a  delight  to  boast 
of  our  "self-made"  men.  Napoleon  once  said  he 
was  the  first  of  his  house,  yet  after  all  it  is  good  to 
have  forefathers,  to  come  from  a  long  line  of  ancestry 
distinguished  for  honesty  and  integrity,  who  lived 
honorable  and  upright  lives,  winning  and  holding  the 
respect  of  their  fellow-citizens.  In  one  respect 
Charles  Warren  Fairbanks  is  a  self-made  man — that 
is,  he  has  succeeded  in  life  without  the  adventitious 
aid  of  wealth  or  of  influential  friends.  He  made  his 
opportunities,  having  himself  laid  the  foundation  en 
abling  him  to  seize  on  the  opportunities  when  they 
came,  but  he  can  count  a  long  line  of  ancestors  who 
filled  creditably  the  various  stations  in  life  to 
they  were  called. 


FAIKBANKS  9 

Among  the  yeomanry  of  England  was  a  family  of 
Fayerbancke.  For  generations  they  had  been  farm 
ers,  growing  up  into  a  sturdy  love  of  liberty.  They 
loved  liberty  of  conscience  as  well  as  they  loved  civic 
liberty.  They  believed  in  God,  and  in  man's  account 
ability  to  God,  and  they  became  Puritans.  With 
others  of  that  way  of  thinking  the  Fayerbanckes  suf 
fered  persecutions  under  the  dominance  of  the  Es 
tablished  church.  There  came  a  time  when  the  com 
mons  of  England  were  forced  into  a  struggle  with  the 
King  in  defense  of  the  liberties  of  the  people.  In 
that  struggle  the  Fayerbanckes  bore  honorable  service 
under  Cromwell. 

One  day,  only  a  few  years  after  the  town  of  Bos 
ton,  Massachusetts,  was  settled,  a  ship  from  England 
came  sailing  into  that  port.  Like  all  ships  from 
England  in  those  days,  it  brought  to  these  shores  a 
number  of  emigrants  fleeing  from  the  persecution  at 
home,  and  who  were  seeking  a  land  where  they  might 
serve  God  after  the  dictates  of  their  own  hearts. 
Probably  none  then  thought  of  this  being  a  land  of 
liberty  as  we  now  view  that  term,  but  to  them  it  was 
to  be  a  land  of  liberty  of  the  conscience,  far  away 
from  the  tyrannies  and  persecutions  of  an  Estab 
lished  church. 

Among  those  on  board  of  the  ship  that  came  sailing 
into  Boston  harbor  on  that  day  was  Jonathan  Fayer 
bancke,  who,  with  his  wife  and  four  sons  and  two 
daughters,  had  left  behind  them  the  home  that  had 


10  FAIRBANKS 

been  that  of  their  ancestors  for  generations,  and  had 
turned  their  faces  to  this  land  of  liberty  of  con 
science. 

Jonathan  Fayerbancke,  like  all  the  Puritans  of  his 
day,  was  a  man  of  strong  prejudices  and  of  iron  de 
termination.  There  were  some  things  about  Boston 
he  did  not  like,  and  he  became  one  of  the  pioneers 
of  the  town  of  Dedham.  The  Puritans  were  professed 
believers  in  liberty  of  conscience,  but  in  practice  the 
liberty  they  permitted  was  only  the  liberty  to  believe 
what  the  congregation  decided.  The  sturdy  and  inde 
pendent  character  of  Jonathan  Fayerbancke  pre 
vented  him  from  giving  this  absolute  and  unques 
tioning  adhesion  to  the  dictates  of  the  congregation, 
and  for  a  time  he  was  not  in  good  fellowship  with 
his  fellow-colonists.  In  the  records  of  the  church  at 
Dedham  is  to  be  found  this  entry : 

"Jonathan  Fayerbancke,  notwithstanding  he  has 
long  stood  off  from  ye  church  upon  some  scruples 
about  publike  p'fession  of  faith  and  ye  covenant,  yet 
after  divers  loving  conferences  with  him,  he  made 
such  a  declaration  of  his  faith  and  conversion  to  God 
and  p'fession  of  subjection  to  ye  ordinances  of  XT 
in  this  Xyt  he  was  readily  and  gladly  received  by  ye 
whole  church  14d — 6m. — 1664." 

Charles  Warren  Fairbanks  is  the  ninth  in  descent 
from  the  Jonathan  Fayerbancke  who  settled  in  Ded 
ham,  Massachusetts,  in  1636.  He  was  born  on  a 
farm  in  Union  county,  Ohio,  May  11,  1852.  His 


FAIRBANKS  11 

father,  Loriston  Monroe  Fairbanks,  was  a  native  of 
Vermont,  but  before  reaching  manhood  he  removed 
to  Massachusetts,  and  at  Ware,  in  that  State,  worked 
in  a  woolen  mill,  but  afterward  emigrated  to  Union 
county,  Ohio,  to  engage  in  farming.  He  returned 
to  Ware  and  learned  the  wagon-making  trade.  He 
then  again  removed  to  Union  county  to  engage  in 
wagon-making,  which  he  followed  for  several  years. 
After  his  removal  to  Union  county  Mr.  Fairbanks 
married  Mary  Adelaide  Smith,  whose  family  was 
among  the  early  pioneers  of  Union  county. 

It  was  in  a  log  house  that  Charles  Warren  first 
saw  the  light.  Fifty  years  ago  tilling  the  soil  was 
not  so  easy  as  it  is  in  these  days  of  improved  farm 
machinery,  and  the  elder  Fairbanks  had  a  hard 
time  to  meet  the  expenses  of  his  increasing  family. 
As  soon  as  he  was  old  enough  to  assist  in  any  way 
with  the  work  of  the  farm,  young  Charles  was  as 
signed  his  tasks.  The  family  was  large,  the  land  had 
to  be  paid  for  and  the  forests  cleared,  that  the  land 
might  be  cultivated,  and  the  work  had  to  be  done 
by  members  of  the  family,  so  the  young  lad  was 
trained  to  laborious  service.  There  was  little  time 
for  idleness  had  he  been  disposed  to  idle.  The  re 
turns  from  the  crops  were  limited,  and  frugality 
as  well  as  toil  was  the  lot  of  the  family. 

In  no  way  was  he  different  from  the  neighboring 
farmer  boys,  unless  it  was  in  a  strong  desire  to  obtain 
an  education.  In  the  evenings,  and  at  other  times 


12  FAIRBANKS 

when  released  from  the  labors  of  the  farm,  he  eagerly 
pursued  his  quest  for  knowledge.  He  read  all  the 
books  he  could  obtain,  and  during  the  short  sessions  of 
the  country  schools  he  attended  them.  He  early  deter 
mined  that  if  within  the  range  of  possibilities  he 
would  secure  a  collegiate  education.  In  this  craving 
for  an  education  all  the  members  of  the  family  heart 
ily  sympathized,  and  his  parents  encouraged  it. 
Thus,  at  the  very  outset  of  his  life  young  Charles  met 
with  all  the  encouragement  his  family  could  give  him 
in  his  aspirations. 

The  biographer  delights  to  relate  stories  of  the 
youthful  life  of  his  subject,  and  the  people  take  an 
equal  delight  in  reading  incidents  of  the  boyhood  life 
of  men  who  have  become  distinguished,  on  the  theory, 
it  is  supposed,  that  "the  boy  is  father  to  the  man," 
but  there  are  few  incidents  connected  with  the  boy 
hood  life  of  Mr.  Fairbanks  that  would  interest  the 
reader.  He  was  not  bad,  as  boys  go,  nor  was  he  espe 
cially  good.  He  indulged  in  no  wild  pranks  or  esca 
pades.  On  the  farm  he  was  industrious,  and  at 
school  attentive  to  getting  all  he  could  from  his  books. 
He  was  not  precocious,  nor  did  he  give  any  evidence 
of  future  greatness.  Once  only  was  his  life  in  seri 
ous  danger.  It  occurred  when  he  was  about  four 
years  of  age.  The  carpenters  were  building  a  new 
frame  house  for  the  family,  and  were  using  the  old 
log  house  as  a  workshop.  Little  Charles  wandered 
into  the  old  house  where  they  had  been  at  work.  The 


FAIRBANKS  13 

floor  was  littered  with  shavings,  and  the  lad  thought 
he  would  like  to  make  a  fire,  lie  opened  the  door 
of  the  stove  and  undertook  to  thrust  in  a  handful  of 
the  shavings.  It  was  only  a  flash  when  the  fire  ex 
tended  from  the  shavings  he  had  thrust  into  the  stove 
to  the  pile  on  the  floor,  and  the  room  was  ablaze. 
The  flames  were  between  him  and  the  doorway,  and 
how  he  finally  escaped  has  been  something  of  a  mys 
tery. 

He  was  much  more  than  ordinarily  daring  and 
courageous  as  a  boy,  and  especially  excelled  in  break 
ing  and  managing  horses,  and  became  an  expert 
horseman  while  very  young.  On  one  occasion  while 
attempting  to  ride  an  unruly  colt  he  met  with  a  se 
rious  accident,  resulting  in  his  receiving  a  broken 
arm.  He  persisted  and  conquered  the  colt.  While 
still  carrying  his  broken  arm  in  a  sling,  he  con 
trolled  and  stopped  a  runaway  team.  He  was  fond 
of  hunting  and  became  an  expert  marksman,  and  is 
today  what  would  be  called  a  good  shot.  He  joined 
in  the  neighborhood  merrymakings,  and  was  ever  a 
welcome  addition  to  every  company  of  young  people. 

But  in  one  very  important  respect  in  his  case  the 
boy  was  the  father  to  the  man,  for  his  boyhood  de 
light  in  study  followed  him,  and  he  became  a  stu 
dious  man.  The  sturdy  integrity  and  honesty  and 
the  habits  of  labor  of  the  boy  have  characterized  the 
man.  As  a  boy  he  learned  to  exert  his  best  endeavors 
in  whatever  he  undertook,  and  as  a  man  that  has 


14  FAIRBANKS 

been  his  unchanging  rule.  In  the  country  school  and 
in  college  he  put  forth  his  best  efforts  to  obtain  knowl 
edge;  as  the  editor  of  his  college  paper  he  gave  his 
best  thought  to  what  he  wrote;  as  a  press  reporter 
he  gave  the  same  conscientious  labor ;  as  a  lawyer,  his 
clients  got  the  best  results  of  his  studies,  and  in  the 
public  service  he  has  always  given  the  best  he  could. 

At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  saw  his  way  to  enter  col 
lege.  He  had  saved  up  a  few  dollars,  and  with  this 
meager  sum,  backed  by  good  health,  a  frugal  train 
ing  and  a  determination  to  succeed,  he  was  optimistic 
enough  to  see  the  end.  His  parents  were  not  poor, 
but  they  were  far  from  being  rich,  and  it  was  a  hard 
struggle  on  the  farm  to  make  both  ends  meet,  so  but 
little  could  be  spared  to  send  one  of  the  boys  to  col 
lege.  But  young  Charles  was  not  to  be  deterred  by 
any  such  difficulties. 

Not  far  from  his  home  was  the  Ohio  Wesleyan 
University,  at  Delaware,  Ohio,  and  to  that  institution 
he  determined  to  go.  A  neighbor  lad  was  equally 
ambitious  for  a  collegiate  education,  and  he,  too,  was 
poor.  They  conceived  the  idea  of  joining  forces  and 
thus  making  the  burden  easier  on  each  one.  They 
rented  a  small  room  near  the  University,  and  therein 
placed  what  little  furniture  they  needed.  A  part 
of  it,  a  table,  a  bookcase  and  a  washstand,  was  made 
by  Charles  himself  on  the  farm.  Their  parents,  as 
often  as  they  had  opportunity,  sent  them  supplies  of 
provisions.  There  they  roomed,  and  there  they 


FAIEBANKS  15 

studied.  They  did  their  own  cooking  and  took  care  of 
their  room.  Their  table  was  never  luxuriously  spread, 
but  it  was  always  ample.  Their  expenses,  all  told, 
amounted  to  only  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  a  week. 
In  these  days  of  athletic  sports  and  intercollegiate 
excursions  and  fraternities  young  Fairbanks  and  his 
roommate  would  make  a  poor  showing  among  their 
fellow-students,  but  perhaps  it  was  best  for  them  that 
their  college  days  were  days  of  adversity. 

The  meager  sum  of  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  nec 
essary  for  the  week's  expenses  had  to  be  earned,  and 
Charles,  who  had  learned  on  the  farm  the  use  of 
tools,  became  a  carpenter's  assistant,  or  did  odd  jobs 
of  carpentering  on  Saturdays.  He  was  not  in  college 
for  play,  and  soon  became  known  as  one  of  the  hard 
est  working  students  in  his  class,  yet  when  he  found 
time  for  relaxation  no  one  joined  in  the  sports  of 
the  hour  more  heartily.  His  sunny  temper  and  his 
cheerful  and  obliging  disposition  soon  made  him  one 
of  the  most  popular  students  in  the  University,  while 
his  studious  habits  and  correct  deportment  made  him 
a  favorite  with  the  faculty.  He  became  one  of  the 
three  editors  of  the  college  paper,  by  election  from 
his  class. 

His  college  life,  like  that  of  his  boyhood,  was  al 
most  wholly  devoid  of  those  incidents  that  make 
readable  stories  in  biography.  In  after  life  his  class 
mates  always  spoke  of  him  in  terms  of  respect  and 
affection,  but  could  recall  to  mind  little  in  the  way  of 

(2) 


16  FAIRBANKS 

incident.  A  short  time  ago  the  former  room-mate  of 
the  Senator  recalled  how  on  one  occasion  they  cut 
cordwood  for  a  farmer,  taking  their  pay  in  wood  for 
their  winter  fuel. 

There  is,  however,  one  little  story  that  illustrates 
the  trials  he  passed  through.  One  day  he  and  his 
room-mate  engaged  in  a  friendly  struggle,  when  the 
only  pair  of  trousers  young  Fairbanks  possessed  gave 
way  under  the  strain.  The  damage  done  was  heyond 
repair,  and  the  procurement  of  new  trousers  became  a 
necessity.  The  young  student  went  to  a  clothing 
merchant  and  asked  for  credit,  but  it  was  denied  him. 
There  was  one  other  dealer  in  ready-made  clothing  in 
the  town,  and  to  him  Fairbanks  at  last  applied. 
Here  he  met  with  a  different  reception,  and  the  credit 
was  readily  extended.  The  merchant  who  was  thus 
willing  to  aid  a  struggling  college  student  is  still 
doing  business  at  Delaware,  and  since  his  old-time 
debtor  has  become  a  prominent  man  in  the  nation  he 
frequently  refers  to  the  time  when  he  trusted  him  for 
a  pair  of  trousers. 

Hon.  H.  D.  Crow,  of  Washington,  was  a  college 
mate  of  Mr.  Fairbanks,  and  tells  the  following  little 
story  that  exemplifies  one  of  the  characteristics  of 
the  Senator: 

"Fairbanks  went  through  college  very  young,  grad 
uating  at  twenty/'  said  Mr.  Crow.  "He  was  a  tall 
and  slender  youth,  a  good  student  and  industrious, 
but  not  regarded  as  particularly  brilliant.  Two 


FAIRBANKS  17 

young  fellows  named  Locke  and  Jones,  had  been  ex 
pelled  from  the  college  because  they  would  not  give 
information  concerning  some  of  their  comrades'  es 
capades.  The  entire  student  body  met  one  afternoon 
to  discuss  the  advisability  of  petitioning  the  faculty 
to  restore  them  to  their  classes.  There  was  consider 
able  debate  over  the  matter,  which  finally  resolved 
itself  into  a  fraternity  fight. 

aThe  debate  had  been  between  seniors  chiefly  and 
few  of  the  juniors  had  ventured  to  express  opinions. 
As  the  last  speaker  sat  down  someone  addressed  the 
chair  from  the  ranks  of  the  sophomores  in  the  rear. 
There  was  a  clamor  of  protest  from  the  seniors  and 
juniors.  A  tall,  ungainly,  awkward  boy,  with  a  voice 
that  had  not  matured,  stood  quietly  waiting  for  the 
recognition  of  the  chair.  His  cool  persistence  won, 
and  the  chair  recognized  Fairbanks.  No  one  knew 
what  position  he  would  take,  for  he  was  not  a  mem 
ber  of  any  of  the  fraternities.  He  made  a  plea  in 
favor  of  restoring  the  two  expelled  members,  not  be 
cause  they  were  or  were  not  members  of  any  society, 
but  because  it  would  be  a  kindly  thing  to  do.  That 
speech  won  the  debate.  The  student  body  voted  with 
Fairbanks. 

"Mr.  Fairbanks,  some  time  after  his  speech,  be 
came  a  member  of  the  Phi  Gamma  Delta  fraternity, 
but  he  had  no  thought  of  doing  so  at  the  time  he 
made  his  speech." 

One  who  was  with  him  in  college  says  that  in  the 


18  FAIKBANKS 

social  gatherings  there  was  none  more  genial  or  more 
welcome  than  young  Fairbanks.  "He  was  not  only 
genial,"  says  this  writer,  "but  he  was  full  of  spirits, 
and  in  conversation  most  entertaining.  His  laugh 
was  infectious.  Possibly  he  would  not  have  been 
called  a  brilliant  student,  but  he  certainly  was  re 
markable  for  his  grasp  of  all  subjects  and  for  his 
capacity  to  absorb  knowledge.  This  is  demonstrated 
by  the  fact  that  he  crowded  a  six  years7  course  into 
five  years.  On  nearly  every  occasion  when  the  stu 
dents  wanted  one  to  speak  for  them  young  Fairbanks 
was  chosen,  he  being  regarded  as  a  leader.  At  one 
time  there  was  a  difference  between  the  faculty  and 
the  fraternities.  Fairbanks  was  a  member  of  the 
Phi  Gamma  Delta,  and  although  there  were  students 
concerned  who  were  both  older  in  years  and  in  length 
of  membership,  he  was  the  chosen  spokesman  of  the 
fraternities." 


CHAPTER  II. 


SUCCESS  AS  A  LAWYER. 

VTOUNG  FAIKBANKS  entered  college  a  raw, 
•*•  country  boy.  He  was  tall,  slim  and  strong.  In 
1872,  when  he  left,  being  graduated  with  high  honors, 
he  was  still  tall  and  slim,  but  much  of  his  shyness  and 
awkwardness  had  been  polished  away.  He  had  im 
proved  in  his  style  of  speech,  but  he  retained  his  seri 
ous  thoughts  of  life.  He  returned  to  the  farm,  but 
only  temporarily.  He  had  other  views  for  life.  He 
had  stored  his  mind  with  the  knowledge  to  be  ob 
tained  from  his  schoolbooks,  and  from  the  teachings 
of  his  preceptors,  and  he  desired  to  use  that  knowl 
edge  in  a  broader  field  than  was  offered  by  a  life  on  a 
farm.  The  law  was  to  be  his  chosen  profession,  and 
he  went  to  work  patiently,  earnestly  and  persistently 
to  prepare  himself.  He  was  through  college  but  was 
out  of  money,  and  to  study  law  more  money  had  to  be 
earned.  -The  late  William  Henry  Smith,  a  brother 
of  his  mother,  was  general  manager  of  the  Associ 
ated  Press,  and  through  him  young  Fairbanks  was 
employed  as  an  agent,  first  at  Pittsburg  and  then 
at  Cleveland.  Engaged  in  the  arduous  labors  of  a 
press  reporter,  he  applied  the  habits  of  industry  he 

-19- 


20  FAIKBANKS 

had  displayed  in  college,  and  utilized  every  possible 
hour  in  continuing  his  law  studies.  He  attended  one 
term  at  a  law  school  in  Cleveland,  and  in  May,  1874, 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  by  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Ohio. 

At  this  time  a  strong  temptation  to  enter  politics 
came  to  him,  but  he  refused.  He  said :  "The  prac 
tice  of  law  is  to  be  my  life  work,  and  I  must  first 
make  my  place  in  the  profession  sure.  When  that 
is  done  then  I  can  afford  to  give  my  attention  to 
politics."  He  was  well  aware  that  the  game  of 
politics  is  a  fascinating  one,  and  once  entered 
upon  is  hard  to  break  away  from,  yet  its  pur 
suit  greatly  militates  against  the  fortunes  of  a 
young  man,  although  he  may  be  successful  from 
a  political  standpoint,  and  he  would  not  enter 
the  game.  He  did  not  ignore  politics,  however,  but 
carefully  studied  the  great  political  problems  of  the 
day,  and  when  a  campaign  was  on  gave  some  of  his 
time  to  speechmaking  for  his  chosen  party.  His  first 
political  speech  was  made  in  Union  county,  Ohio, 
before  he  was  twenty-one  years  of  age. 

On  October  6,  1874,  after  he  was  admitted  to 
the  bar,  and  after  he  had  determined  to  make  his 
future  home  in  Indianapolis,  he  married  Miss  Cor 
nelia  Cole,  who  had  been  a  student  with  him  at  Wes- 
leyan  University.  When  he  was  ready  to  enter  the  ac 
tive  practice  of  his  profession  the  problem  of  where 
to  locate  was  a  serious  one.  His  observation  had 


FAIRBANKS  21 

taught  him  that  the  best  chances  for  success  were  to 
be  found  in  a  growing  city.  The  bar  in  such  a  city 
might  be  well  supplied  in  numbers  of  aspiring  law 
yers,  and  in  ability,  but  he  remembered  the  old  adage, 
"there  is  always  room  at  the  top,"  so  he  determined 
to  cast  in  his  lot  and  begin  his  struggles  in  some 
growing  city.  The  top  was  still  far  ahead  of  him, 
but  he  determined  to  reach  it  if  patient,  persistent 
work  would  take  him  there.  After  canvassing  the 
whole  field  he  finally  decided  on  Indianapolis.  It 
was  a  fortunate  choice  for  him  and  for  the  State  of 
Indiana. 

Before  deciding  to  make  his  home  in  Indianapolis 
he  visited  the  city  and  readily  saw  its  future  possi 
bilities.  It  was  the  capital  city  of  a  State  that  was 
rapidly  growing  in  population,  wealth,  and  commer 
cial  and  political  importance.  The  city  itself  was 
expanding.  It  was  a  great  railroad  center,  and  was 
becoming  the  center  of  vast  manufacturing  interests. 
Consequently  such  a  place  would  be  one  where  great 
legal  interests  would  be  involved,  and  he  decided  that 
it  should  be  his  future  home. 

On  removing  to  Indianapolis  he  and  his  young 
wife  occupied  a  modest  home,  for  their  means  were 
restricted,  and  neither  of  them  was  disposed  to  make 
any  ostentatious  show  or  to  live  beyond  their  limited 
means.  They  felt  hopeful  that  success  would  come, 
but  the  place  of  the  husband  at  the  bar  was  yet  to 
be  won.  The  fight  to  reach  the  top  might  be  a  very 


22  FAIRBANKS 

hard  one.  They  could  not  tell,  but  they  were  brave 
of  heart  and  brave  of  hope.  If  conscientious  labor, 
hard  study,  a  strict  attention  to  business  and  integ 
rity  of  action  could  win  success,  they  believed  it 
was  within  their  reach,  for  Mr.  Fairbanks  was  pa 
tient,  was  a  hard  student,  and  was  determined  to 
give  strict  attention  to  his  profession,  and  integrity 
of  life  and  of  purpose  was  his  birthright  from  his 
parents. 

He  had  a  happy  faculty  of  making  friends,  and 
with  him  once  to  make  a  friend  was  to  hold  a  friend. 
Step  by  step  he  climbed  up  in  his  profession.  At 
first  clients  came  slowly,  then  they  multiplied  rap 
idly  and  success  was  assured.  He  won  the  esteem 
and  respect  of  his  fellows  at  the  bar.  When  he  en 
tered  on  the  trial  of  a  case  he  gave  it  assiduous  atten 
tion  and  close  study,  depending  on  the  law  and  equity 
rather  than  upon  any  chicanery  or  tricks.  In  fact, 
he  had  nothing  of  those  elements  in  his  makeup.  He 
never  assailed  the  attorney  or  the  litigant  in  oppo 
sition  to  him,  but  treated  attorneys,  litigant  and  the 
court  with  the  utmost  courtesy  and  respect. 

In  a  very  few  years  he  had  as  wide  and  as  lucrative 
a  practice  as  any  member  of  the  Indianapolis  bar,  and 
for  several  years  his  emoluments  from  his  law  prac 
tice  steadily  grew,  and  there  were  but  few  lawyers 
anywhere  in  the  United  States  with  a  more  lucrative 
practice.  His  practice  extended  into  many  of  the 
States,  but  was  especially  large  in  Ohio,  Indiana  and 


FAIRBANKS  23 

Illinois.  Much  of  it  was  connected  with  large  trans 
portation  and  corporate  affairs.  He  had  no  practice 
in  criminal  matters.  Neither  his  mind  nor  his  read 
ing  ran  toward  criminal  law,  and  he  never  tried  but 
one  criminal  case.  Increase  of  practice  brought  hard 
work,  demanded  more  hours  of  study,  and  laborious 
research.  He  began  with  a  well-grounded  knowledge 
of  the  elementary  principles  of  the  law,  but  his  prac 
tice  soon  required  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  stat 
ute  law  of  many  of  the  States,  as  also  of  the  laws 
of  other  countries. 

Much  of  his  practice  was  bef ore.  the  Federal  courts, 
and  he  had  to  meet  and  contend  against  many  of  the 
most  prominent  lawyers  of  the  country.  He  began 
with  a  very  modest  library,  consisting  of  a  few  vol 
umes  only,  but  they  had  been  chosen  with  great  care. 
When  he  entered  the  United  States  Senate  he  pos 
sessed  one  of  the  largest  and  most  valuable  libraries 
in  the  West. 

His  success  in  his  profession  was  not,  in  one  sense 
of  the  word,  phenomenal,  but  came  from  his  thorough 
training,  his  close  and  conscientious  attention  to  busi 
ness,  and  his  faculty  for  making  friends.  It  was 
the  result  of  a  determined  and  set  purpose.  When 
he  entered  the  United  States  Senate  it  was  at  a  great 
pecuniary  sacrifice,  for,  having  accepted  office  at  the 
hands  of  the  people,  he  determined  to  give  to  their 
service  the  same  conscientious  attention  he  had  given 
to  his  profession,  and  to  do  that  he  must  be  prepared 


24  FAIRBANKS 

to  give  all  his  time;  so  he  at  once  retired  from  the 
practice  of  the  law.  In  his  youth,  when  tempted 
to  enter  politics  he  had  refused,  saying  that  he  must 
first  win  a  place  in  his  profession,  so  that  if  he  failed 
in  politics  he  would  be  sure  to  have  something  to  fall 
back  upon ;  second,  he  must  accumulate  a  competence 
for  himself  and  his  family.  Having  succeeded  in 
both  these  directions,  when  the  people  called  for  his 
services  he  could  give  them  his  undivided  time  and 
attention. 

It  would  be  pleasant  to  indulge  in  reminiscences 
and  fill  a  few  pages  with  anecdotes  connected  with 
his  legal  practice,  tell  of  great  and  signal  triumphs 
he  won  over  distinguished  and  able  counsel,  but  the 
reader  can  not  be  indulged  in  that  respect.  He  won 
notable  triumphs,  it  is  true,  but  they  were  won  by 
a  thorough  preparation  of  his  case  and  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  law.  He  knew  the  law,  and  "the 
tricks  of  the  law,"  but  never  indulged  in  the  tricks, 
and  only  used  his  knowledge  of  them  to  prevent  him 
self  being  tricked  by  an  opposing  attorney.  He  never 
had  any  startling  cases,  but  he  did  have  cases  in 
which  vast  interests  were  involved,  and  they  were 
presented  to  the  court  or  to  the  jury  without  any 
startling  complications.  Hence  he  was  better  known 
to  the  bar  and  to  the  bench  than  to  the  general  public. 
His  practice  led  him  into  an  acquaintance  with  many 
of  the  distinguished  men  of  the  nation,  and  he  won 
their  friendship  and  confidence.  In  this  he  found 
one  of  the  elements  of  his  later  success  in  politics. 


CHAPTER  III. 


HE  ENTERS  POLITICS. 

A  S  HIS  success  at  the  bar  increased,  and  as  his 
position  in  the  profession  became  fixed,  he  felt 
that  he  could  give  more  time  to  politics.  He  had  been 
a  student  of  politics.  He  had  given  careful  study 
to  all  the  great  political  problems  of  the  day,  to  the 
political  history  of  the  country,  and  to  the  policies 
advocated  by  the  various  political  parties,  so  that 
when  he  was  ready  to  enter  the  political  field  it  was 
as  a  well-equipped  warrior.  He  had,  at  various  times 
during  political  campaigns,  made  a  few  speeches,  and 
had  impressed  himself  on  the  leaders  of  his  party 
in  Indiana,  so  that  his  advice  and  counsel  were 
sought,  but  it  was  not  until  1888  that  he  took  any 
active  part  in  the  management  or  direction  of  party 
politics. 

Among  the  early  professional  friendships  he 
formed  was  one  with  the  late  Walter  Q.  Gresham, 
who  was  Judge  of  the  United  States  Court  for  the 
district  of  Indiana  when  Mr.  Fairbanks  began  the 
practice  in  Indianapolis.  This  personal  friendship 
remained  unbroken  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Gresham, 

-25- 


26  FAIKBANKS 

and  that  friendship  had  much  to  do  with  the  enter 
ing  into  active  politics  by  Mr.  Fairbanks. 

In  1888  Indiana  had  two  distinguished  sons  who 
were  talked  of  as  possible  candidates  for  the  Presi 
dency — Benjamin  Harrison  and  Walter  Q.  Gresham. 
To  decide  between  the  two  placed  more  than  one  citi 
zen  of  Indiana  in  a  quandary,  but  not  so  with  Mr. 
Fairbanks.  Ever  fair  and  open  in  his  professional 
life,  he  determined  to  be  equally  open  and  fair  in 
his  adherence  to  the  political  fortunes  of  any  man. 
He  was  a  friend  of  General  Harrison,  and  admired 
his  lofty  character  and  great  qualities.  He  had  often 
met  him  in  legal  battles,  and  knew  full  well  his  great 
abilities  as  a  lawyer.  He  had  heard  his  speeches  on 
great  political  occasions,  and  had  watched  his  career 
in  the  Senate,  and  fully  appreeiated  his  grasp  of 
matters  of  political  policy  and  statecraft.  He  knew 
that  if  General  Harrison  should  be  exalted  to  the 
high  office  of  President  of  the  Kepublic  the  admin 
istration  of  the  affairs  of  the  nation  would  be  marked 
with  high  ability;  but  against  all  this  was  the  per 
sonal  affection  he  had  for  Judge  Gresham,  inspired, 
first,  by  the  kindly  consideration  of  the  eminent 
Judge  to  a  young  and  struggling  lawyer,  and  in 
creased  by  the  wonderfully  fascinating  personality  of 
Mr.  Gresham.  Had  he  not  believed  that  Judge 
Gresham  possessed  all  the  qualifications  to  make  him 
a  great  President  and  a  safe  head  for  the  nation, 
these  personal  considerations  would  not  have  weighed 
with  him. 


FAIRBANKS  2? 

As  it  was,  he  instantly  made  up  his  mind  to  sup 
port  Judge  Gresham,  but  in  pursuance  of  the  policy 
that  he  had  always  followed,  he  wrote  to  General 
Harrison  a  letter  stating  the  reasons  that  led  him 
to  support  the  candidacy  of  the  Judge.  It  was  a 
fair,  candid,  open  statement  of  one  friend  to  an 
other,  but  one  that  is  not  often  found  in  political 
life.  One  of  the  most  cherished  possessions  of  Sen 
ator  Fairbanks  is  the  reply  of  General  Harrison. 
The  reply  is  as  follows : 

"Washington,  May  11,  1888. 
aC.  W.  Fairbanks,  Esq.,  Indianapolis,  Ind. : 

"My  Dear  Sir — Your  kind  letter  of  the  8th  has 
been  received.  I  assure  you  that  your  frank  decla 
ration  of  your  preference  for  Judge  Gresham  can  not 
in  the  smallest  degree  affect  our  friendly  relations. 
I  am  not  one  of  those  who  have  no  friends  who  are 
not  followers.  It  has  been  my  wish,  and  my  efforts 
have  been  with  my  wish,  to  suppress  all  divisions 
of  a  personal  character  in  the  party  in  Indiana.  So 
far  as  I  could  I  have  restrained  my  friends,  but, 
as  Judge  G.  has  himself  found  out,  that  is  not 
always  possible.  I  feel  sure  that  you  will  know 
how  to  advocate  his  claims  without  unkindness  to  me. 

"Very  truly  yours, 

"BENJ.  HAKKISOlSr." 

Mr.  Fairbanks  took  charge  of  the  Gresham  cam 
paign  for  delegates  in  Indiana.  All  the  old  party 


2$  FAIRBANKS 

leaders  and  the  whole  party  machinery  were  for  Gen 
eral  Harrison,  whose  candidacy  was  supported  by 
nearly  all  of  the  Kepublican  papers  of  the  State. 
General  Harrison  finally  got  the  delegation  from  the 
State,  hut  it  was  only  after  one  of  the  hottest  fights 
ever  known  in  a  State  where  political  battles  are  pro 
verbially  warm.  Notwithstanding  he  failed  to  get 
any  of  the  delegates  from  Indiana,  Judge  Gresham 
determined  to  contest  for  the  nomination  at  Chicago. 
The  Republican  convention  of  1888  was  one  of  the 
notable  gatherings  of  that  party.  James  G.  Elaine 
was  the  brilliant  leader  of  the  Republican  party, 
and  he  had  many  friends  who  were  bent  on  making 
him  once  more  the  standard-bearer,  notwithstanding 
he  had  declared  that  his  name  must  not  go  before 
the  convention.  Sherman,  Allison,  Depew,  Alger, 
Harrison  and  Gresham  were  before  the  convention, 
but  the  Blaine  cloud  overshadowed  the  whole.  All 
of  the  Chicago  papers  were  for  Judge  Gresham. 

In  marshaling  the  Gresham  forces  Mr.  Fairbanks 
displayed  wonderful  skill  in  the  handling  of  men. 
Suave  and  pleasant  with  everyone,  listening  to 
all  suggestions,  nevertheless  he  kept  his  own  coun 
sels.  He  displayed  prodigious  activity,  yet  never 
appeared  to  be  hurried.  He  refused  to  join  in 
the  attacks  made  on  General  Harrison,  and  did 
what  he  could  to  discourage  them,  especially  those 
made  in  regard  to  the  General's  attitude  on  the  labor 
question.  He  talked  to  newspaper  reporters,  to  edi- 


FAIRBANKS  29 

tors,  gave  them  suggestions,  but  never  divulged  his 
plans.  He  was  always  ready  to  make  combinations, 
but  would  not  make  any  to  which  a  bargain  was  at 
tached.  He  carefully  avoided  saying  or  doing  any 
thing  that  might  by  any  possibility  be  distorted  into 
a  promise  to  bind  his  chief.  He  had  a  corps  of  ef 
fective  lieutenants  and  to  them  divulged  just  enough 
of  his  plans  to  put  them  to  intelligent  and  earnest 
work.  He  kept  them  busy,  and  when  the  convention 
opened  it  looked  as  if  he  would  be  able  to  nominate 
his  candidate  on  one  of  the  early  ballots. 

On  the  first  ballot  Sherman  led  and  Gresham  was 
second.  It  was  well  known  that  Sherman  had  polled 
on  that  first  ballot  all  the  strength  he  could  command, 
and  it  was  thought  he  could  not  hold  his  followers, 
but  he  did.  The  uncertain  factor  all  the  time  was 
the  position  the  Elaine  men  would  finally  take.  The 
Elaine  leaders  hoped  the  convention  would  tire  itself 
out  in  a  vain  effort  to  nominate  and  would  then  turn 
to  the  "Plumed  Knight."  They  gave  up  this  hope 
at  last,  and  then  they  went  to  Harrison  and  he  was 
nominated  on  the  eighth  ballot.  Among  the  first  to 
send  the  successful  candidate  congratulations  on  his 
victory  was  Mr.  Fairbanks,  who  returned  to  Indiana 
and  at  once  tendered  his  services  to  the  General  and 
to  the  Republican  committee.  There  were  those  who 
advocated  ignoring  Mr.  Fairbanks  and  the  other 
Gresham  adherents  in  Indiana,  but  General  Harrison 
put  a  quietus  on  it  by  saying  that  a  man  who  had 


30  FAIEBANKS 

shown  the  political  skill  and  f orcef ulness  of  Mr.  Fair 
banks  could  not  be  ignored  with  impunity. 

Judge  Gresham  had  many  lovable  traits  of  char 
acter,  and  those  traits  made  his  friends  devoted  to 
him.  Mr.  Fairbanks  was  a  young  man  when  he  first 
made  the  acquaintance  of  Judge  Gresham.  He  was 
just  starting  out  in  his  profession,  and  on  more  than 
one  occasion  the  Judge  exhibited  for  him  such  a 
kindly  consideration  that  he  at  once  won  the  heart 
of  the  young  attorney.  In  1903,  nearly  twenty  years 
after  his  first  meeting  with  Judge  Gresham,  Mr. 
Fairbanks  was  called  upon  to  deliver  an  address  at 
the  unveiling  of  a  portrait  of  the  Judge  in  the  United 
States  court-room  in  Springfield,  Illinois.  In  the 
course  of  the  address  he  paid  the  following  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  his  friend : 

"He  delighted  in  aiding  the  young.  No  man  with 
the  same  opportunities  ever  did  more  than  he  to  help 
young  men  get  on  in  the  world.  He  saw  in  others  the 
struggles  of  his  own  youth,  and  he  was  ever  ready  to 
serve  them  in  every  possible  way.  The  lawyer,  when 
entering  upon  his  professional  career,  when  possessed 
of  doubts  as  to  his  cases,  and  filled  with  discourage 
ment,  always  found  a  sympathetic  friend  in  the  gen 
erous-hearted  and  noble  Judge.  The  young  attorney, 
with  a  good  cause,  but  overmatched  by  an  older  and 
more  resourceful  antagonist,  found  upon  the  bench 
help  and  sympathy.  How  far  goes  a  helpful  word 
in  time  of  need  to  the  beginner  at  the  bar. 


FAIRBANKS*  31 

"He  was  a  just  judge  in  the  fullest  and  best  sense. 
He  came  from  the  great  body  of  the  people  and  was 
always  in  touch  with  them.  He  possessed  none  of 
the  elements  of  the  demagogue.  He  was  always  nat 
ural;  never  sought  nor  pretended  to  be  what  God 
had  not  made  him.  He  never  tried  to  veneer  his 
true  character,  or  to  obscure  it  by  cheap  or  meretri 
cious  arts. 

"He  was  simple  and  modest  in  his  habits;  frank 
and  candid.  There  was  nothing  meteoric  in  him. 
He  pressed  forward,  meeting  the  duties  of  the  hour 
as  he  found  them ;  discharging  them  faithfully,  con 
scientiously  and  well. 

"He  was  on  terms  with  men  of  all  conditions.  He 
met  them  upon  a  common  level.  There  was  that 
subtle  element  in  him  which  invited  the  confidence 
of  all.  The  weak  and  the  powerful  alike  saw  the 
true  nobility  of  his  character  and  held  him  in  like 
respect.  The  lowly  were  not  overawed  and  the  high 
were  properly  deferential." 

Mr.  Fairbanks  threw  himself  heart  and  soul  into 
the  work  of  electing  Mr.  Harrison  President.  In 
other  campaigns  he  had  made  an  occasional  speech, 
but  he  now  engaged  actively  in  that  work,  and  almost 
at  once  established  his  right  to  hold  a  first  place 
among  the  political  orators  of  Indiana.  He  was  well 
equipped  for  the  work,  as  he  had  made  a  careful 
study  of  political  policies  and  of  the  demands  of  the 
nation.  One  thing  was  noticeable  from  the  very  be- 

(3) 


32  FAIEBANKS 

ginning  of  his  speech-making  career — his  complete 
avoidance  of  personal  detraction  and  vituperative  lan 
guage.  He  tried  at  once,  so  far  as  his  voice  and 
example  could  go,  to  lift  party  politics  from  the  low 
marsh  of  detraction  and  corruption  up  to  the  high 
plane  of  reason  and  argument.  In  all  the  speeches 
he  has  ever  made — and  they  have  been  many — not 
one  word  of  abuse  of  a  political  opponent  or  of  the 
opposing  party  can  be  found.  He  always  speaks  of 
everybody  with  courtesy  and  kindness.  This  trait  of 
character  was  early  noticed  by  his  opponents,  and  it 
is  to  be  said  to  the  credit  of  political  controversy  in 
Indiana  that  no  speaker  of  the  opposing  party  has 
ever  uttered  one  word  of  detraction  of  Mr.  Fairbanks. 
His  entire  attitude  is  exemplified  by  the  following 
extract  from  his  remarks  at  the  memorial  service  of 
the  late  William  Holman: 

"He  raised  his  standard  of  exalted  duty  in  public 
place,  and  to  it  remained  inflexibly  true.  He  was 
possessed  of  superb  moral  courage,  and  his  purpose 
once  set,  he  was  immovable.  The  stock  from  which 
he  came  was  strong,  rugged.  It  laid  the  broad  foun 
dation  for  a  mighty  empire  of  wealth,  of  power,  of 
intelligence  in  the  great  Mississippi  Valley.  He  was 
a  type  of  which  there  are  too  few. 

"Mr.  President,  we  reluctantly  retire  from  the  con 
templation  of  a  character  so  illustrious  in  achieve 
ment  and  devotion  to  the  service  of  his  countrymen. 
He  has  richly  earned  the  'Well  done,  thou  good  and 


33 


faithful  servant/  and  the  repose  which  crowns  an 
honest  life." 

It  may  be  granted  that  many  of  the  eulogiums  pro 
nounced  in  Congress  are  perfunctory,  but  all  who 
know  Mr.  Fairbanks  will  readily  credit  him  with 
being  sincere  in  this  commendation  of  the  life  and 
services  of  a  political  opponent.  With  Mr.  Fairbanks 
life  has  been  too  serious  for  him  to  utter  sentiments 
foreign  to  his  heart. 

His  campaign  work  for  General  Harrison  was  of 
a  very  high  order,  and  had  much  to  do  with  carrying 
Indiana  for  the  Republican  ticket  that  year.  His 
manners  were  popular  and  he  rapidly  extended  his 
acquaintance  with  the  party  leaders  of  the  State. 
His  ability  as  a  speaker  was  at  once  recognized  and 
his  services  were  in  demand.  With  him  it  was  no 
grudging  service.  He  had  been  defeated  at  the  Chi 
cago  convention,  but  General  Harrison  was  his 
friend,  arid  he  felt  that  he  would  fill  the  exalted 
station  to  the  honor  of  the  nation.  And,  too,  he  be 
lieved  in  the  policy  of  the  Republican  party,  and 
that  its  triumph  was  for  the  best  interests  of  the  coun 
try.  His  zeal  for  the  party  was  strengthened  by  his 
zeal  for  his  personal  friend  and  fellow-townsman. 

It  was  not  alone  in  speech-making  that  his  influ 
ence  was  felt  in  that  campaign,  but  his  counsels  to 
the  managers  were  wise  and  his  suggestions  always 
prudent.  The  managers  never  made  a  mistake  when 
they  followed  his  advice.  He  had  become  a  power 


34  FAIRBANKS 

in  the  party  councils,  and  that  power  has  grown  con 
tinuously  with  each  campaign. 

From  1888  Mr.  Fairbanks  has  been  one  of  the 
leaders  of  his  party  in  Indiana.  No  step  has  been 
taken  by  the  party  that  he  has  not  been  consulted 
on,  and  it  may  be  added  that  for  some  years  no  step 
has  been  taken  against  his  advice,  so  fully  has  the 
party  come  to  depend  upon  his  political  sagacity. 
The  campaign  of  1890  was  a  disastrous  one  to  the 
Kepublicans  of  Indiana.  The  McKinley  bill  had 
just  gone  into  operation,  but  its  provisions  were  not 
thoroughly  understood,  and  the  tide  turned  strongly 
against  the  administration,  but*  Mr.  Fairbanks  la 
bored  in  season  and  out  of  season,  and  was  ever  found 
in  the  forefront  of  the  battle.  His  services  were 
in  constant  demand.  The  calls  on  him  for  speeches 
were  so  many  that  he  could  not  fill  all  of  them.  His 
popularity  and  strength  as  a  campaign  speaker  rap 
idly  increased.  The  tide  was  too  strong,  however, 
and  the  party  went  down  to  defeat.  The  party  thus 
early  began  to  regard  him  as  excellent  senatorial 
timber,  whenever  the  time  should  come  that  the  Re 
publicans  would  have  the  power  to  elect  one. 

The  campaign  of  1892  opened  with  a  struggle  be 
tween  the  friends  of  Elaine  and  those  of  Harrison 
for  the  nomination.  Even  in  Indiana  there  was  some 
dissatisfaction  with  President  Harrison,  but  it  was 
not  strong  enough  to  effect  anything.  The  Repub 
lican  National  Convention  met  at  Minneapolis.  Mr. 


FAIRBANKS  35 

Fairbanks  was  present,  a  strong  advocate  of  the  re- 
nomination  of  President  Harrison.  He  was  one  of 
those  who  engineered  the  famous  meeting  of  the  Har 
rison  delegates  the  night  before  the  convention,  at 
which  it  was  easily  demonstrated  Harrison  would 
be  renominated  on  the  first  ballot.  The  friendship 
between  the  President  and  Mr.  Fairbanks  had  in 
creased  during  the  four  years  from  1888,  and  Mr. 
Harrison  had  been  taught  to  regard  the  future  Sen 
ator  as  one  of  his  safest  political  advisers. 

The  political  battle  of  1892  was  one  of  the  fiercest 
ever  fought  in  Indiana.  For  a  number  of  years 
Indiana  was  looked  upon  as  a  doubtful  State,  and 
was  controlled  first  by  one  party  and  then  by  the 
other.  Again  Mr.  Fairbanks  was  one  of  the  leaders, 
and  his  voice  was  heard  in  almost  every  part  of  the 
State.  He  was  one  of  the  most  industrious  of  the 
many  speakers  the  State  had.  During  the  short  in 
tervals  when  he  would  be  at  Indianapolis  he  was  in 
close  consultation  with  the  State  committee,  counsel 
ing,  advising  and  suggesting  new  moves  on  the  en 
emy.  It  was  a  period  of  political  unrest.  The  lower 
ing  clouds  of  financial  and  commercial  depression 
were  already  gathering,  and  in  Indiana  the  party 
was  somewhat  torn  by  factions.  Large  numbers  who 
had  hoped  for  Federal  appointments  -under  Harrison 
had  been  disappointed.  All  these  things  combined 
to  make  the  fight  a  hard  one. 

It  was  under  these  conditions  the  Republicans  of 


36  FAIRBANKS 

Indiana  made  preparations  to  put  a  State  ticket  in 
the  field,  and  began  to  consider  which  one  of  its 
orators  would  be  the  best  to  make  the  opening  speech 
outlining  the  issues,  or,  as  is  so  often  said  in  politics, 
"deliver  the  keynote."  It  was  readily  recognized  that 
no  mistake  must  be  made  in  this  "keynote"  speech. 
The  unanimous  choice  of  the  leaders  was  Mr.  Fair 
banks,  and  when  the  convention  met  he  was  made 
its  chairman,  and  in  a  speech  of  cogent  reasoning 
and  great  power  he  clearly  outlined  the  issues  that 
divided  the  two  great  parties,  upholding  the  admin 
istration  of  General  Harrison  and  clearly  pointing 
out  the  disasters  that  would  follow  a  change  in  the 
policies  of  the  government.  The  tariff  was  one  of 
the  principal  issues,  and  he  discussed  that  question 
at  some  length,  contrasting  the  condition  of  business 
under  the  tariff  law  of  the  Cleveland  administration 
and  the  McKinley  bill  of  Harrison's.  The  opening 
paragraph  of  the  speech  was  peculiarly  striking: 

"For  thirty  years,"  he  said,  "the  Republican  party 
has  stood  in  the  'white  light  that  beats  against  the 
throne/  and  its  record  is  flawless.  There  is  no  one 
who  admires  courage  and  steadfastness  in  the  cause 
of  good  government  who  does  not  admire  the  Repub 
lican  party Its  history  is  so  full  of 

deeds  of  vast  and  vital  moment,  I  would  weary  you 
if  I  attempted  a  recital  of  them." 

At  that  time  the  free  coinage  of  silver,  that  culmi 
nated  in  1896,  was  just  looming  up.  The  Demo- 


FAIKBANKS  37 

cratic  party  was  not  yet  ready  to  put  itself  on  record 
in  favor  of  the  coinage  at  the  ratio  of  sixteen  to 
one,  but  it  was  seen  that  matters  were  drifting  in 
that  direction,  and  Mr.  Fairbanks  sounded  a  warning 
note  and  boldly  announced  the  attitude  of  the  Repub 
lican  party  on  the  question.  This  was  four  years 
before  the  party  in  its  national  convention  declared 
for  a  gold  standard.  Among  other  things  Mr.  Fair 
banks  said: 

"The  Republican  party  stands  for  a  sound,  honest 
dollar.  It  has  always  opposed  an  unstable  and  de 
based  currency.  The  all-important  element  in  the 
circulating  medium  is  that  it  be  of  stable  value.  On 
this  the  Republican  party  stands." 

He  gave  much  consideration  to  State  issues,  con 
trasting  the  administration  of  the  two  parties.  This 
speech  was  circulated  by  the  committee  as  a  campaign 
document.  Mr.  Fairbanks  was  the  great  pacificator 
during  that  campaign,  using  all  his  powers  of  per 
suasion  to  harmonize  the  factions,  stir  up  the  luke 
warm,  and  give  courage  to  the  doubtful.  He  did 
effective  and  faithful  work,  but  once  more  the  tide 
turned  to  the  enemy.  He  made  many  speeches,  can 
vassing  nearly  the  entire  State.  President  Harrison 
recognized  the  value  of  his  services,  and  after  the 
conclusion  of  the  campaign  warmly  thanked  him, 
and  the  friendship  between  the  two  received  a  new 
bond. 

When  Mr.  Fairbanks  began  the  practice  of  the 


38  FAIEBANKS 

law  in  Indianapolis  Mr.  Harrison  was  the  leader 
of  the  bar,  and  two  years  later  was  the  Republican 
candidate  for  Governor  of  the  State.  His  great  abil 
ities  and  sterling  character  at  once  impressed  Mr. 
Fairbanks,  and  he  took  his  place  in  the  ranks  of 
Harrison's  warm  admirers.  His  estimate  of  the  char 
acter  and  public  services  of  General  Harrison  is 
shown  by  extracts  from  a  number  of  speeches  deliv 
ered  by  him.  As  Chairman  of  the  Indiana  Repub 
lican  Convention  of  1892  Mr.  Fairbanks,  in  his  open 
ing  speech,  said : 

"You  do  well  to  cheer  that  name  [Harrison].  It 
stands  for  pure  and  exalted  statesmanship.  No  other 
has  done  more  to  place  our  State  high  in  the  estima 
tion  and  the  admiration  of  the  world." 

When  General  Harrison  returned  to  Indianapolis 
at  the  close  of  his  term  as  President,  the  citizens 
gave  him  a  reception.  Mr.  Fairbanks  was  chosen  to 
make  the  welcoming  address.  In  the  course  of  it 
he  said : 

"You  have  taught  obedience  to  law,  a  higher  re 
spect  for  our  American  institutions.  You  have  in 
spired  a  deeper  reverence  for  the  sacred  emblem  of 
our  national  authority Your  adminis 
tration  was  of  the  highest  purpose,  persisted  in  to 
the  end;  it  has  been  without  a  stain;  the  most  ma 
lignant  tongue  can  lodge  against  it  no  word  of  re 
proach." 

In  1898,  at  a  banquet  in  Quebec,  Canada,  in  re- 


FAIKBANKS  39 

sponse  to  the  toast  "The  President  of  the  United 
States,"  Mr.  Fairbanks  said: 

"Then  came  Harrison,  of  my  own  State — Benja 
min  Harrison,  who  brought  to  that  great  office  a 
genius  for  statesmanship  and  a  devotion  to  the  public 
service  that  ranks  him  among  the  greatest  who  have 
held  that  high  office." 

It  was  during  the  campaign  of  1892  that  Mr.  Fair 
banks  first  met  Mr.  McKinley,  and  then  began  the 
friendship  that  existed  between  the  two  men.  Mr. 
McKinley  was  in  Indiana  taking  part  in  the  cam 
paign,  and  on  several  occasions  the  two  distinguished 
orators  spoke  from  the  same  platform.  Each  recog 
nized  the  ability  of  the  other,  and  on  one  occasion 
the  future  President  said:  "Fairbanks,  you  ought 
to  be  in  the  Senate."  Had  the  Republicans  suc 
ceeded  in  Indiana  he  would  have  been  in  the  Senate. 
But  his  time  was  not  yet. 

The  campaign  of  1894  opened  with  brighter  pros 
pects  for  the  Republican  party.  It  was  a  time  of 
great  business  depression,  and  thousands  of  workmen 
were  out  of  employment.  »  A  financial  panic  had 
greatly  demoralized  business  everywhere,  and  the 
Democratic  administration  had  the  burden  of  blame 
to  bear.  There  was  also  a  very  decided  and  growing 
dissatisfaction  with  Mr.  Cleveland  in  his  own  party. 
Indiana  was  beginning  to  feel  the  good  effects  of 
the  natural  gas  boom  when  the  business  depression 
struck  the  country,  and  the  "gas  belt"  felt  the  blow 


40  FAIRBANKS 

in  a  marked  degree.  All  these  things  made  thousands 
of  Democrats  lukewarm,  and  other  thousands  turn 
to  the  Kepublican  party  for  relief.  In  Indiana  the 
Republicans  entered  upon  the  campaign  with  high 
hopes  and  great  enthusiasm.  They  felt  from  the 
beginning  that  it  was  to  be  their  year.  As  usual, 
Mr.  Fairbanks  took  the  leading  part  in  the  campaign. 
By  this  time  his  fame  as  a  campaign  speaker  had 
passed  the  boundary  of  Indiana,  and  he  received 
many  invitations  from  other  States.  He  renewed  his 
acquaintance  with  Mr.  McKinley,  and  again  they 
took  part  together  in  campaign  work.  It  was  a  glori 
ous  year  for  the  Republican  party  in  Indiana,  and 
they  swept  the  State,  electing  a  State  ticket  and  every 
member  of  Congress,  and  once  more  obtained  control 
of  the  Legislature.  This  campaign  greatly  added  to 
the  popularity  and  strength  of  Mr.  Fairbanks.  By 
this  time  he  had  spoken  in  every  county  in  the  State. 
He  carried  into  his  political  work  the  same  suave  and 
kindly  manner  that  had  so  distinguished  him  at  the 
bar.  He  was  of  the  people,  mingled  with  the  people. 
There  was  nothing  of  the  demagogue  about  him,  but 
he  was  always  hearty  and  earnest  in  his  greetings. 
He  had  no  bitter  antagonisms  among  his  political 
opponents.  In  later  years  he  announced  in  the  Sen 
ate  his  creed  as  to  political  differences,  in  his  memo 
rial  address  in  respect  to  Mr.  Holman,  when  he  said : 
"Political  parties  are  undivided  as  to  purpose — the 
highest  and  best  welfare  of  the  country;  their  dif- 


FAIRBANKS  41 

ferences  arise  as  to  the  best  method  of  obtaining  the 
end." 

It  was  in  this  spirit  he  discussed  the  political  ques 
tions  of  the  day,  and  he  always  commanded  a  re 
spectful  and  attentive  hearing. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


ENTERS  NATIONAL  POLITICS. 

17s  OK  eight  years  he  had  been  a  potent  factor  in 
•*•  Indiana  politics,  and  had  taken  a  leading  part 
in  four  hotly  contested  campaigns,  and  the  time  had 
now  arrived  when  he  was  to  become  an  active  and 
potential  factor  in  national  political  affairs.  Another 
Presidential  election  was  on,  and  the  people  were 
beginning  to  array  themselves  for  the  contest.  In 
the  four  years  since  he  had  made  his  memorable 
speech  at  Fort  Wayne,  wherein  he  declared  the  Re 
publican  party  always  had  been  and  always  would 
be  for  an  honest  dollar,  a  stable  currency,  the  march 
of  events  had  been  rapid.  The  advocates  of  free  sil 
ver  coinage  had  been  especially  active  and  the  finan 
cial  heresy  had  spread  over  all  the  country,  and  it 
became  a  living  issue. 

In  Indiana  it  had  strongly  tainted  the  Republi 
cans,  especially  in  the  rural  districts.  The  free 
silver  men  had  been  proselyting  everywhere.  It  was 
readily  seen  that  if  the  Republican  party  was  to  suc 
ceed,  this  drifting  away  from  the  old  moorings  by 
members  of  the  party  must  be  checked,  yet  there 

-42- 


FAIRBANKS  43 

was  a  great  danger  in  running  contrary  to  the  cur 
rent.  Mr.  Fairbanks  was  one  of  those  who  saw  the 
danger  to  the  country  in  this  financial  heresy;  he 
saw  the  ruin  to  the  nation's  credit,  the  disaster  that 
would  come  to  the  great  business  interests  of  the 
country  if  free  coinage  became  a  part  of  the  policy 
of  the  Government.  He  was  courageous  enough  to 
step  into  the  breach,  and  sagacious  enough  to  see 
that  if  his  party  would  take  a  firm  stand  for  honest 
money  the  people  would  sustain  it. 

Before  the  assembling  of  the  Indiana  Republican 
Convention  certain  parts  of  the  platform  were  por 
tioned  out  among  the  leaders  of  the  party  for  the 
preparation  of  the  proper  declaration.  To  Mr.  Fair 
banks  was  assigned  the  preparation  of  the  financial 
•  plank,  and  when  the  leaders  met  for  consultation  he 
offered  the  following: 

"We  are  firm  and  emphatic  in  our  demand  for 
honest  money.  We  believe  that  our  money  should 
not  be  inferior  to  the  money  of  the  most  enlightened 
nations  of  the  earth.  We  are  unalterably  opposed 
to  every  scheme  that  threatens  to  debase  our  cur 
rency.  We  favor  the  use  of  silver  as  currency,  but 
to  the  extent  only  and  under  such  regulations  that 
its  parity  with  gold  can  be  maintained ;  and,  in  con 
sequence,  are  opposed  to  the  free  and  unlimited  coin 
age  of  silver  at  the  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one." 

It  at  once  met  with  strong  opposition,  and  several 
who  admitted  it  was  the  correct  principle  expressed 


44  FAIRBANKS 

grave  fears  of  the  result,  believing  that  such  a  pro 
nounced  declaration  would  alienate  all  of  the  Repub 
lican  adherents  of  free  silver,  but  Mr.  Fairbanks 
stood  firm.  He  reasoned  and  argued,  holding  that 
the  only  safe  course  was  for  the  Republican  party 
to  stand  consistent  with  its  past  record ;  that  it  must 
not  stultify  itself  by  a  retreat  from  the  position  it 
had  always  taken  in  favor  of  an  honest  dollar,  saying 
that  he  would  rather  go  down  to  defeat  than  for  one 
instant  to  fall  from  the  high  standard  the  party  had 
always  maintained ;  that  all  admitted  that  free  coin 
age  would  be  ruinous  if  adopted,  and  the  Republican 
party  must  not  give  the  least  countenance  to  any 
policy  that  would  bring  financial  ruin  or  throw  dis 
credit  on  the  integrity  of  the  Government. 

He  won,  and  the  plank  was  incorporated  in  the 
platform,  but  one  of  the  leading  candidates  on  the 
ticket  remarked:  "It  is  brave,  it  is  right;  but  I 
shall  prepare  to  be  snowed  under." 

Mr.  McKinley  was  a  leading  candidate  for  the 
Presidential  nomination,  and  Mr.  Fairbanks  took 
charge  of  his  campaign  in  Indiana  and  handled  it 
with  such  skill  and  finesse  that  every  district  in  the 
State  declared  for  the  Ohio  man,  Mr.  Fairbanks 
being  named  as  one  of  the  delegates-at-large.  The 
financial  stand  of  the  party  in  Indiana  attracted  con 
sideration  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  it  called 
attention  to  Mr.  Fairbanks.  Mr.  McKinley  sent  for 
him  and  requested  him  to  accept  the  temporary  chair 
manship  of  the  convention. 


FAIRBANKS  45 

When  the  Convention  met  at  St.  Louis,  Mr.  Fair 
banks  was  named  as  the  temporary  Chairman,  and 
delivered  the  speech  as  requested  by  Mr.  McKinley. 
The  speech  was  a  very  able  one,  and  completely  cov 
ered  all  the  issues  before  the  country,  and  it  so  well 
fits  the  conditions  of  today  that  it  is  here  reproduced : 

"Gentlemen  of  the  Convention — I  am  profoundly 
grateful  for  this  expression  of  your  generous  confi 
dence.  As  citizens  we  were  never  called  upon  to 
discharge  a  more  important  duty  than  that  which 
rests  upon  us — the  nomination  of  a  President  and 
Yice-President  of  the  United  States.  This  duty  is 
a  very  impressive  one  at  the  moment,  for  it  is  al 
ready  written  in  the  Book  of  Fate  that  the  choice 
of  this  convention  will  be  the  next  President  and 
Vice-President  of  this  great  Republic. 

"Three  years  of  Democratic  administration  have 
been  three  years  of  panic,  of  wasted  energy,  of  anxi 
ety  and  loss  to  the  American  people,  without  a  par 
allel  in  our  history.  Today  the  people  turn  to  the 
Republican  party  hopefully,  confidently,  and  it  is 
for  us  to  meet  their  expectations ;  it  is  for  us  to  give 
them  those  candidates  upon  whom  their  hearts  have 
centered,  and  to  give  them  clear,  straightforward, 
emphatic  expression  of  our  political  faith.  The  Re 
publican  party  is  a  party  of  convictions;  and  it  has 
written  its  convictions  in  the  history  of  the  Republic 
with  the  pen  and  the  sword;  with  it  the  supreme 
question  always  has  been  not  what  is  merely  politic, 


46  FAIEBANKS 

but  what  is  'everlastingly  right.'  The  great  men 
we  have  given  to  the  Nation  and  to  history,  the 
mighty  dead  and  the  illustrious  living,  are  our  inspi 
ration  and  tower  of  strength.  If  we  are  but  true 
to  their  exalted  example,  we  can  not  be  false  to  our 
countrymen. 

"For  a  third  of  a  century  prior  to  the  advent  of 
the  present  Democratic  administration  we  operated 
under  laws  enacted  by  the  Republican  party.  All 
great  measures  concerning  the  tariff  and  the  cur 
rency  originated  with  it.  Tariff  laws  were  formed 
upon  lines  which  protected  our  laborers  and  pro 
ducers  from  unequal  and  unjust  foreign  competition, 
and  upon  the  theory  that  the  best  market  in  the 
world  is  the  home  market  and  that  it  should  be  en 
joyed  by  our  own  countrymen. 

"Under  the  currency  laws  our  currency  was  made 
national.  The  wildcat  State  bank  money  of  the  Dem 
ocratic  party  was  wiped  out  of  existence.  The  un 
precedented  demands  growing  out  of  the  war  were 
met  by  a  paper  currency  which  ultimately  became 
as  good  as  gold.  Since  the  resumption  of  specie  pay 
ment  in  1879  every  dollar  of  our  money,  paper,  sil 
ver  and  gold,  has  been  of  equal  purchasing  power 
the  world  over.  The  policy  of  the  party  has  been 
to  make  and  keep  our  currency  equal  to  the  best  in 
the  world. 

"Under  the  operation  of  these  honest  tariff  and 
honest  money  Republican  laws  the  country  grew  in 


,  FAIRBANKS  47 

wealth  and  power  beyond  precedent.  We  easily  out 
stripped  all  other  powers  in  the  commercial  race. 
In  November,  1892,  there  was  work  for  every  hand 
and  bread  for  every  mouth.  We  reached  high-water 
mark.  Labor  received  higher  wages  than  ever,  and 
capital  was  profitably  and  securely  employed.  The 
national  revenues  were  sufficient  to  meet  our  obli 
gations  and  leave  a  surplus  in  the  treasury.  Foreign 
and  domestic  trade  were  greater  in  volume  and  value 
than  they  had  ever  been.  Foreign  balances  were 
largely  in  our  favor.  European  gold  was  flowing  to 
ward  us.  But  all  of  this  is  changed.  The  cause  is 
not  hard  to  find.  A  reaction  began  when  it  was 
known  that  the  legislative  and  executive  branches  of 
the  Government  were  to  be  Democratic. 

"The  Democratic  party  had  at  Chicago  condemned 
the  protective  tariff  principle  as  unconstitutional,  and 
solemnly  pledged  itself  to  the  overthrow  and  destruc 
tion  of  the  McKinley  law  and  to  the  adoption  of  free 
trade  as  the  policy  of  the  United  States.  This  bold, 
aggressive  attack  upon  the  long-settled  policy  of  the 
Republican  party  bore  its  natural  fruit  in  shaken 
confidence  and  unsettled  business,  and  we  were  soon 
drifting  against  the  rock  of  destruction. 

"Before  the  work  of  demolition  was  actually  begun 
a  run  was  started  upon  the  treasury  reserve  which 
the  Republican  party  had  wisely  accumulated  for  the 
protection  of  the  national  credit.  The  drain  upon 
the  reserve  for  the  redemption  of  greenbacks  and 

(4) 


48  FAIRBANKS  , 

treasury  notes  greatly  surpassed  all  prior  experience 
and  emphasized  the  discredit  into  which  the  Demo 
cratic  administration  had  fallen.  An  utter  want  of 
confidence  in  the  administration  possessed  the  people. 

"The  Democratic  party  was  harmonious  on  one 
subject,  and  that  was  the  destruction  of  the  McKin- 
ley  law.  But  when  they  came  to  the  exercise  of  the 
creative  faculty,  the  enactment  of  a  great  revenue 
measure  in  its  stead,  there  was  discord.  The  im 
periled  interests  of  the  country  watched  and  waited 
through  long  and  anxious  months  for  some  settlement 
of  the  important  question.  They  wanted  an  end  of 
uncertainty. 

"At  length  the  Wilson  bill  was  adopted,  and  it 
was  characterized  by  a  Democratic  President  as  the 
child  of  'perfidy  and  dishonor.'  It  was  so  bad  that 
he  would  not  contaminate  his  hand  by  signing  it. 
A  bill  that  is  too  base  for  Mr.  Cleveland  to  approve 
is  too  base  for  the  approval  of  the  American  people. 

"This  important  law  was  wanting  in  the  primary 
purpose  of  a  revenue  measure,  for  it  failed  to  provide 
adequate  revenue  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the 
Government.  The  deficiency  thus  far  amounts  to 
some  $150,000,000.  The  end  is  not  yet,  for  the  defi 
ciency  grows  day  by  day.  This  leaves  the  treasury 
and  the  public  credit  in  constant  peril.  Our  foreign 
credit  is  impaired  and  domestic  capital  feels  inse 
cure.  The  sectional  favoritism  of  the  Wilson  bill 
was  one  of  its  marked  features.  Its  blow  at  sheep 


FAIEBANKS  49 

husbandry  was  an  unpardonable  offense.  It  was  a 
flagrant  wrong  to  the  farmers  of  the  United  States. 
This  great  industry  had  developed  and  grown  under 
Republican  protective  laws  until  it  was  one  of  our 
greatest.  We  are  now  sending  abroad  millions  of 
dollars  for  wool  which  were  paid  to  our  farmers 
under  the  McKinley  law. 

"The  bill  struck  down  reciprocity,  one  of  the  high 
est  achievements  of  American  statesmanship.  ~No 
measure  was  ever  enacted  which  more  directly  ad 
vanced  the  interests  of  American  farmers  than  reci 
procity.  With  its  destruction  fell  advantageous  com 
mercial  agreements,  under  which  their  products  were 
surely  finding  larger  and  profitable  foreign  markets, 
and  without  the  surrender  of  their  own. 

"The  substitution  of  ad  valorem  for  specific  duties 
has  opened  the  way  for  systematic  wholesale  frauds 
upon  the  treasury  and  producers  and  employers  of 
the  country.  By  means  of  under-valuations  foreign 
goods  pass  through  the  customhouses  without  paying 
their  just  tribute  to  the  treasury  of  the  United  States. 
Thus  we  have  lost  millions  of  dollars  in  revenues, 
and  the  foreign  producers  have  been  enabled  to  un 
fairly  possess  our  home  markets. 

"Neither  time  nor  place  will  permit  further  ref 
erence  to  the  unfortunate  revenue  legislation  of  the 
Democratic  party,  nor  to  the  hurtful,  demoralizing 
effect  of  it.  Suffice  it  to  say  it  has  been  the  great 
and  original  factor  in  breaking  down  confidence  and 


50  FAIKBANKS 

progress,  emptying  the  treasury,  causing  continued 
deficits  and  enforced  idleness  among  millions  of  will 
ing  workers. 

"To  meet  the  monthly  deficits  and  protect  our 
credit  and  save  the  Government  from  protest  the 
President  has  been  forced  to  sell  bonds — in  other 
words,  he  has  been  obliged  to  mortgage  the  future 
in  a  time  of  peace  to  meet  the  current  obligations 
of  the  Government. 

"This  is  a  sharp  contrast  with  the  Republican 
record.  Our  tariff  laws  not  only  raised  revenue,  but 
they  protected  our  domestic  industries;  they  impar 
tially  protected  the  farmer  and  the  manufacturer, 
both  north  and  south.  Not  only  that,  but  they  raised 
sufficient  revenue  to  gradually  reduce  the  public  debt, 
and  without  imposing  a  grievous  burden  upon  the 
people.  During  the  administration  of  Harrison 
$236,000,000  of  obligations  were  paid,  while  Cleve 
land,  during  the  last  three  years,  has  added  to  our 
interest-bearing  debt  $262,000,000.  Against  such 
Democratic  financiering  the  Republican  party  enters 
its  emphatic  protest. 

"Having  attempted  to  reverse  the  tariff  policy  of 
the  United  States  with  such  lamentable  results,  the 
Democratic  party  now  proposes  to  reverse  the  cur 
rency  policy.  It  turns  to  the  currency  as  the  parent 
of  our  ills.  Its  effort  to  shift  the  responsibility  will 
deceive  no  one.  Its  attack  upon  the  tariff,  its  record 
of  inefficiency  and  insincerity,  is  a  part  of  the  un 
fortunate  history  of  the  Republic. 


FAIRBANKS  51 

"The  present  currency  system  is  the  fruit  of  Re 
publican  wisdom.  It  has  been  adequate  to  all  our 
past  necessities,  and,  if  uncorrupted,  will  meet  our 
future  requirements.  Our  greatest  prosperity  was 
attained  when  Republican  currency  laws  were  in  full 
operation.  When  the  Republican  party  was  in 
power,  our  currency  was  good ;  it  was  made  as  good 
as  the  best  on  the  globe.  We  made  sound  money, 
and  we  also  made  an  honest  protective  tariff  to  go 
with  it.  Sound  money  and  an  honest  protective 
tariff  go  hand  in  hand,  together;  not  one  before  the 
other. 

"The  very  foundation  of  a  sound  currency  system 
is  a  solvent  treasury.  If  the  people  doubt  the  integ 
rity  of  the  treasury,  they  will  question  the  soundness 
of  the  currency.  Recognizing  this  fundamental  fact, 
the  Republican  party  always  provided  ample  revenue 
for  the  treasury. 

"When  in  the  last  half-century  of  our  history  did 
the  Democratic  party  advocate  a  financial  policy  that 
was  in  the  best  interests  of  the  American  people? 
Look-  at  its  ante-bellum  currency  record.  Consider 
its  hostility  to  the  currency  rendered  necessary  by  the 
exigency  of  the  war ;  and  later,  its  effort  to  inflate  the 
currency  in  a  time  of  peace  by  the  issue  of  green 
backs.  *  Witness  its  opposition  to  the  efforts  of  the 
Republican  party  to  resume  specie  payments.  But 
four  short  years  ago  it  declared  for  the  return  of  the 
old,  discredited  State  bank  currency. 


52  FAIRBANKS 

"The  Republican  party  lias  not  been  unfriendly  to 
the  proper  use  of  silver.  It  has  always  favored,  and 
favors  today,  the  use  of  silver  as  a  part  of  our  cir 
culating  medium,  but  it  favors  that  use  under  such 
provisions  and  safeguards  as  shall  not  imperil  our 
present  national  standard.  The  policy  of  the  Repub 
lican  party  is  to  retain  both  gold  and  silver  as  a  part 
of  our  circulating  medium,  while  the  policy  of  free 
coinage  of  silver  leads  to  certain  silver  monometal 
lism.  It  is  an  immutable  law  that  two  moneys  of 
unequal  value  will  not  circulate  together,  and  the 
poorer  always  drives  out  the  better. 

"The  Republican  party,  desiring  fairly  to  secure 
a  larger  use  of  silver,  pledged  itself  in  favor  of  an 
international  agreement.  Harrison,  true  to  the 
pledge  of  his  party,  took  the  initiatory  steps  and 
invited  an  international  monetary  conference  at 
Brussels,  at  which  the  subject  of  an  international 
coinage  agreement  was  ably  and  profitably  discussed. 

"The  Democratic  party  was  also  committed  to 
international  bimetallism,  but  when  it  came  into 
power  the  work  which  had  been  so  auspiciously  begun 
by  the  Republican  party  was  abandoned.  It  was  so 
absorbed  in  its  efforts  to  break  down  the  McKinley 
law  and  empty  the  treasury  that  it  had  no  time  to 
promote  international  bimetallism. 

"Those  who  profess  to  believe  that  this  Govern 
ment  can,  independently  of  the  other  great  commer 
cial  Powers,  open  its  mints  to  the  free  and  independ- 


FAIRBANKS  53 

ent  coinage  of  silver  at  a  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one,  and 
at  the  same  time  not  drive  every  dollar  of  gold  out  of 
circulation,  but  deceive  themselves. 

"Great  and  splendid  and  powerful  as  our  Govern 
ment  is,  it  can  not  accomplish  the  impossible.  It 
can  not  create  value.  It  has  not  the  alchemist's  sub 
tle  art  of  transmuting  unlimited  silver  into  gold,  nor 
can  it,  by  omnipotent  fiat,  make  fifty  cents  worth 
one  hundred  cents.  As  well  undertake  by  resolution 
of  Congress  to  suspend  the  lawTs  of  gravitation  as 
attempt  to  compel  an  unlimited  number  of  fifty-cent 
dollars  to  circulate  with  one-hundred-cent  dollars  at 
a  parity  with  each  other.  An  attempt  to  compel 
unlimited  dollars  of  such  unequal  value  to  circulate 
at  a  parity  is  bad  in  morals  and  vicious  in  policy. 
Sound  thinkers  upon  the  great  question  of  the  cur 
rency  know  from  the  beginning  of  the  experiment 
how  miserably  and  certainly  it  would  fail.  The  com 
merce  of  the  country  would  again  be  thrown  upon  the 
sea  of  uncertainty,  and  the  specter  of  want  would 
continue  to  haunt  us  for  years  to  come. 

"Upon  opening  our  mints  to  the  independent  free 
coinage  of  silver  foreign  credits  would  be  withdrawn 
and  domestic  credits  would  be  greatly  curtailed, 
ivlore  than  this,  there  would  be  a  certain  and  sudden 
contraction  of  our  currency  by  the  expulsion  of 
$620,000,000  of  gold,  and  our  paper  and  silver  cur 
rency  would  instantly  and  greatly  depreciate  in 
purchasing  power.  But  one  result  would  follow  this : 


54  FAIRBANKS 

Enterprise  would  be  further  embarrassed,  business 
demoralization  would  be  increased,  and  still  further 
and  serious  injury  would  be  inflicted  upon  the  labor 
ers,  the  farmers,  the  merchants,  and  all  those  whose 
welfare  depends  upon  a  wholesome  commerce. 

"A  change  from  the  present  standard  to  the  low 
silver  standard  would  cut  down  the  recompense  of 
labor;  reduce  the  value  of  the  savings  in  savings 
banks  and  building  and  loan  associations;  salaries 
and  incomes  would  shrink ;  pensions  would  be  cut  in 
two ;  the  beneficiaries  of  life  insurance  would  suffer ; 
in  short,  the  injury  would  be  so  universal  and  far 
reaching  that  a  radical  change  can  be  contemplated 
only  with  the  gravest  apprehension. 

"A  sound  currency  is  one  of  the  essential  instru 
ments  in  developing  our  commerce.  It  is  the  pur 
pose  of  the  Republican  party  not  only  to  develop  our 
domestic  trade,  but  to  extend  our  commerce  into  the 
uttermost  parts  of  the  earth.  We  should  not  begin 
our  contest  for  commercial  supremacy  by  destroying 
our  currency  standard.  All  the  leading  powers  with 
which  we  must  compete  suspended  the  free  coinage 
of  silver  when  the  increased  production  of  silver 
forced  the  commercial  value  of  silver  below  the  coin 
age  ratio  to  gold.  Shall  we  ignore  their  ripened 
experience  ?  Shall  we  attempt  what  they  have  found 
utterly  impossible  ?  Shall  it  be  said  that  our  stand 
ard  is  below  theirs  ? 

"You  can  not  build  prosperity  upon  a  debased  or 


FAIKBANKS  55 

fluctuating  currency;  as  well  undertake  to  build 
upon  the  changing  sands  of  the  sea. 

"A  sound  currency  defrauds  no  one.  It  is  good 
alike  in  the  hands  of  the  employe  and  the  employer, 
the  laborer  and  the  capitalist.  Upon  faith  in  its 
worth,  its  stability,  we  go  forward  planning  for  the 
future.  The  capitalist  erects  his  factories,  acquires 
his  materials,  employs  his  artisans,  mechanics  and 
laborers.  He  is  confident  his  margin  will  not  be 
swept  away  by  fluctuations  in  the  currency.  The 
laborer  knows  that  the  money  earned  by  his  toil  is 
as  honest  as  his  labor,  and  that  it  is  of  unquestioned 
purchasing  power.  He  likewise  knows  that  it 
requires  as  much  labor  to  earn  a  poor  dollar  as  a 
good  one;  and  he  also  knows  that  if  poor  money  is 
abroad  it  surely  finds  its  way  into  his  pocket." 

The  speech  was  widely  circulated  throughout  the 
country,  and  had  great  influence.  Major  John  W. 
Carson,  dean  of  the  Washington  correspondents, 
lately  wrote  as  follows  of  the  effect  of  the  speech : 

"Fairbanks  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Indiana 
delegation  to  the  St.  Louis  Convention  and  was  made 
temporary  chairman  of  that  body,  delivering  a  speech 
that  attracted  wide  attention  and  contributed  to  fix 
ing  the  status  of  the  party  on  the  money  question. 
That  convention  declared  against  the  free  coinage  of 
silver,  and  it  was  largely  due  to  the  persistent  efforts 
of  Mr.  Fairbanks  and  a  few  other  sagacious  and  con 
servative  men  that  that  declaration  was  made.  It 


56  FAIRBANKS 

has  been  claimed  that  the  action  of  the  Indiana  Re 
publican  State  Convention  in  1896  had  a  very  salu 
tary  influence  on  the  Republican  National  Conven 
tion  of  the  same  year  in  declaring  for  the  gold 
standard." 

On  the  money  question  the  convention  gave  its 
emphatic  endorsement  to  the  speech  of  Mr.  Fair 
banks  and  to  the  attitude  of  the  Republicans  of 
Indiana  in  the  following  plank  of  the  platform : 

"The  Republican  party  is  unreservedly  for  sound 
money.  It  caused  the  enactment  of  the  law  provid 
ing  for  the  resumption  of  specie  payment  in  1879 ; 
since  then  every  dollar  has  been  as  good  as  gold. 
We  are  unalterably  opposed  to  every  measure  calcu 
lated  to  debase  our  currency  or  impair  the  credit  of 
our  country.  We  are  therefore  opposed  to  the  free 
coinage  of  silver  except  by  international  agreement 
with  the  leading  commercial  nations  of  the  world, 
which  we  pledge  ourselves  to  promote,  and,  until 
such  agreement  can  be  obtained,  the  existing  gold 
standard  must  be  preserved.  All  our  silver  and 
paper  currency  must  be  maintained  at  parity  with 
gold,  and  we  favor  all  measures  designed  to  main 
tain  inviolably  the  obligations  of  the  United  States 
and  all  our  money,  whether  coin  or  paper,  at  the 
present  standard,  the  standard  of  the  most  enlight 
ened  nations  of  the  earth." 

Mr.  McKinley  was  nominated  and  there  followed 
on©  of  the  memorable  campaigns  of  history.  The 


FAIKBANKS  57 

Democratic  party  declared  in  favor  of  the  free  and 
unlimited  coinage  of  silver  at  the  ratio  of  sixteen  to 
one,  and  also  bitterly  assailed  the  integrity  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court.  Mr.  Fairbanks' 
speech  at  the  St.  Louis  Convention  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  party  leaders  everywhere  to  him, 
and  his  services  were  at  once  demanded  in  all  parts 
of  the  country.  It  was  a  strange  campaign,  every 
party  but  the  Republican  being  divided.  The  broad 
declaration  of  the  Democratic  Convention  in  favor 
of  free  silver  did  not  meet  the  approval  of  the  entire 
party;  there  was  an  open  revolt  against  it,  and  a 
sound  money  Democratic  ticket  was  put  in  the  field. 
Even  such  minor  parties  as  the  Prohibitionists  and 
the  Populists  divided  and  each  had  two  tickets. 
Hundreds  of  prominent  Democrats  announced  their 
purpose  to  save  the  country  from  the  disasters  of  free 
silver  by  voting  for  the  Republican  candidates.  In 
Indiana  there  were  a  large  number  of  these  sound 
money  Democrats. 

Mr.  Fairbanks  returned  from  St.  Louis  and  at 
once  addressed  himself  to  the  task  of  making  good 
his  predictions  that  Indiana  could  be  carried  on  a 
sound  money  platform.  He  took  part  in  the  manage 
ment  of  the  campaign,  and  he  made  an  active  and 
complete  canvass  of  the  State.  He  spent  his  days 
and  nights  in  traveling  and  speech-making,  and  in 
consulting  with  members  of  the  party  in  all  sections. 


CHAPTER  V. 


HIS  SERVICES  TO  HIS  PARTY. 

Al A  HE  result  of  the  campaign  was  a  notable  victory 
^  for  the  Kepublican  party.  The  Legislative  be 
ing  Kepublican,  all  eyes  at  once  turned  toward  Fair 
banks  for  Senator,  and  all  hearts  declared  the  place 
was  rightfully  his.  When  the  General  Assembly 
met  he  was  duly  chosen  Senator  and  he  entered  upon 
a  new  field.  He  was  ripe  for  the  duties  of  the  high 
station  to  which  he  had  been  chosen.  His  close 
studies  of  policies,  his  clear  analysis  of  motives  and 
forecasting  of  results,  his  broad  and  comprehen 
sive  views  of  public  affairs,  his  integrity  of 
character,  fitted  him  to  take  a  place  among  the  law 
makers  of  a  nation.  Studious  by  nature  and  by 
habit,  possessing  a  lofty  conception  of  the  duties  of 
a  public  servant  and  of  the  exalted  dignity  and  re 
sponsibilities  of  a  member  of  the  highest  legislative 
body  in  the  world,  he  entered  upon  the  discharge  of 
his  duties  fully  armed  and  equipped.  Before  taking 
up  and  reviewing  his  public  career  in  the  Senate  it 
will  be  well  to  follow  a  little  further  his  services  te 
his  party  in  the  campaigns  that  have  followed  his 
election  to  the  Senate. 

-58- 


FAIRBANKS  59 

Before  the  campaign  of  1898  opened  he  was  called 
to  Detroit,  Michigan,  to  address  the  people  on  the 
celebration  of  Washington's  Birthday.  His  speech 
abounded  in  epigrammatic  sentences,  a  few  of  which 
are  culled  for  insertion  in  this  place : 

"It  is  a  trite  saying  that  the  luxuries  of  yesterday 
are  the  necessities  of  today.  Our  children  are  wiser 
than  the  philosophers  who  studied  in  the  shade  of 
Academus.  The  world  is  moving  forward  with  elec 
tric  momentum  and  the  political  philosophers  of  the 
Platte  are  unable  to  stop  it.  An  advancing  country 
demands  a  party  of  progressive  principles.  A  party 
which  neither  learns  nor  forgets  is  a  national  hin 
drance,  and  valuable  only  as  a  reminiscence." 

"The  country  has  outgrown  Democracy  as  it  has 
outgrown  the  ox-cart,  the  stage-coach  and  their  con 
temporaneous  instruments  of  civilization." 

"Before  that  august  tribunal  (the  Supreme  Court) 
the  weak  and  the  strong,  the  poor  and  the  rich,  stand 
upon  a  plane  of  absolute  equality,  and  whoever 
attempts  to  undermine  the  confidence  of  the  people 
in  its  integrity  or  justice  is  an  enemy  of  the  re 
public." 

"The  vitalizing  fact,  the  vivifying  influence  of 
Republicanism  today  is  bathing  the  country  in  the 
sunshine  of  prosperity.  The  clouds  and  mists  of 
adversity  which  have  rested  upon  our  land  for  the 
past  few  years  are  lifting  under  the  restoration  of 
Republicanism  in  our  government.  The  people  are 


60  FAIRBANKS 

lighter-hearted  and  fuller-handed  than  they  were,  and 
look  hopefully  and  confidently  to  the  future  for  even 
greater  things." 

"Republicanism  lays  the  groundwork  for  the 
larger  development  of  the  opportunities  which  a 
bountiful  providence  has  placed  within  our  grasp." 

"Republicanism  is  evolution;  evolution  to  higher 
and  better  conditions;  evolution  out  of  commercial 
paralysis  to  industrial  activity  where  labor  and  capi 
tal  are  joint  sharers." 

"Republicanism  is  catholicity  of  spirit.  Its  moni 
tor  is  the  national  conscience." 

"No  nation  which  is  not  essentially  honest  can 
long  succeed.  Policies  which  are  not  just  can  bring 
nothing  except  distrust  and  disaster." 

"Republicanism  seeks  to  restore  confidence,  for 
after  all  it  is  the  best  currency,  though  it  bears  not 
the  stamp  of  government.  Confidence  is  the  basis 
of  all  prosperity,  of  all  national  greatness.  Upon 
confidence  rests  the  everlasting  throne.  Without  it 
the  church  vanishes  as  a  disordered  dream.  Upon 
confidence  rest  our  temples  of  justice.  Confidence 
is  the  handmaiden  of  the  arts  and  sciences.  Confi 
dence  led  Gallileo  through  the  dark  night  into  the 
beautiful  garden  of  the  skies.  Confidence  led  Wash 
ington  from  Valley  Forge  to  Yorktown,  and  Grant 
from  Donelson  to  Appomattox.  Confidence  in  our 
selves,  confidence  in  each  other,  confidence  in  truth 
and  righteousness  is  essential  to  all  progress,  all  sue- 


FAIRBANKS  61 

"Republicanism  demands  that  our  currency  shall 
be  honest,  sound  arid  stable,  in  order  that  capital  and 
labor  may  go  forth  resolutely  and  without  fear  into 
the  future." 

"The  currency  that  is  good  for  the  one  must  be 
good  for  the  other." 

"We  have  the  best  country,  the  best  people,  and 
limitless  possibilities.  We  are  entitled  to  have,  and 
we  shall  consent  to  have  nothing  less  than  the  best 
instrumentalities  for  our  development." 

"We  should  throw  about  our  monetary  system 
such  safeguards  as  shall  preserve  it  in  the  shock  of 
war  and  in  time  of  peace." 

"No  country  which  is  willing  to  juggle  with  its 
credit  will  long  retain  the  respect  of  mankind." 

"National  repudiation  is  national  degradation  and 
the  loss  of  individual  respect." 

"Whoever  would  seek  to  blind  the  people  by  preju 
dice  and  attempt  to  overthrow  the  fixed,  unvarying 
standard,  under  which  so  much  has  been  accom 
plished,  is  their  arch  enemy." 

"The  greatest  government  should  be  the  most 
just." 

"The  ultimate  judgment  of  the  American  people 
is  always  just.  We  can  confidently  appeal  to  it." 

Senator  Fairbanks  opened  the  campaign  of  1898 
in  Indiana  by  presiding  at  the  State  Convention  and 
again  sounding  the  "keynote"  for  the  party.  The 
speech  was  an  able  and  exhaustive  review  of  the  first 


62  FAIEBANKS 

year  of  the  administration  of  President  McKinley. 
He  opened  with  a  serious  declaration  of  the  duty  of 
a  party  to  give  a  faithful  account  of  its  stewardship 
to  the  people: 

"My  countrymen,  the  occasion  demands  that  we 
should  give  to  the  great  constituency  which  we  rep 
resent  some  account  of  our  administration  of  national 
and  State  affairs  with  which  the  people  have  in 
trusted  us.  In  the  nature  of  the  case,  we  can  do  no 
more  than  touch  upon  the  more  salient  features  of 
the  great  and  numerous  questions  which  have  en 
gaged  out  attention.  We  have  been  in  power  in 
State  and  Nation  about  one  year  and  a  half — a  brief 
period,  yet  filled  with  more  important  events  than 
any  similar  period  of  our  country's  history,  except, 
perhaps,  only  one.  It  has  been,  indeed,  a  history- 
making  epoch — an  epoch  which  will  challenge  the 
admiration  and  approval  of  those  who  shall  follow  us. 
Mighty  events  have  pressed  quick  upon  each  other, 
and  more  are  soon  to  come. 

"When  we  were  last  assembled,  two  years  ago,  dis 
tress  and  commercial  paralysis  were  on  every  hand ; 
our  people  were  enervated  and  progress  seemed  dead. 
But  with  the  restoration  of  the  Republican  party  to 
power  in  1897  an  era  of  prosperity  was  ushered  in. 
All  avenues  of  industry  were  reopened;  countless 
thousands  of  idle  workmen  found  remunerative  fields 
of  employment,  and  the  returns  of  the  farmers  in 
creased  until  plenty  and  happiness  extend  throughout 


FAIRBANKS  63 

the  borders  of  the  Republic.  What  caused  this  sud 
den  transformation — this  radical  and  universally  rec 
ognized  change?  It  was  the  natural  and  logical  re 
sult  of  the  restoration  of  the  Republican  party  to 
power  and  the  re-establishment  of  Republican  princi 
ples  in  public  administration." 

He  took  up  the  principal  acts  of  the  McKinley 
administration,  the  reform  of  the  tariff,  the  war  with 
Spain,  the  war  revenue  bill,  the  treatment  of  the 
financial  question,  the  annexation  of  Hawaii  and  the 
Nicaragua  canal,  analyzing  and  dissecting  them  in  a 
clear  and  logical  style.  He  closed  as  follows : 

"We  are  proud  of  the  administration  of  President 
McKinley.  He  has  borne  the  burdens  of  his  great 
office  with  a  patience  and  courage  that  have  won  the 
approving  judgment  of  all  parties  and  all  peoples. 
He  has  met  every  duty  with  a  broad  and  compre 
hensive  statesmanship,  and  sought  to  lead  our  country 
in  the  ways  of  peace,  fraternity,  prosperity  and 
honor.  When  war  became  inevitable,  when  it  be 
came  necessary  to  appeal  to  the  sword,  he  struck  with 
a  swift  and  heavy  hand. "  In  less  than  sixty  days  he 
assembled  an  army  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million 
of  men,  calling  to  the  rank  and  places  of  leadership 
men  of  all  parties  and  of  all  sections  of  the  country. 
Those  who  had  fought  against  him  when  he  was  de 
fending  the  Union  were  called  to  lead,  that  they 
might  vindicate  their  love  for  the  Republic,  their 
devotion  to  the  flag  they  had  once  in  their  mistaken 

(5) 


64  FAIBBANKS 

zeal  sought  to  destroy.  He  has  well  met  the  ardu* 
ous  demands  of  peace  and  the  grave  exigencies  of 
war. 

"My  countrymen,  the  Republican  party  has  confi^- 
dence  in  the  future.  It  sees  in  present  conditions 
the  promise  of  enlarged  opportunity  and  of  greater 
prosperity  and  happiness  for  the  American  people. 
The  bow  of  promise  which  bends  above  us  was  never 
more  splendid  than  today.  There  never  was  an  hour 
in  all  our  proud  history  when  it  meant  more  to  be  an 
American. 

"Our  flag  is  more  loved  at  home  and  more  people 
are  willing  to  die  for  it  than  ev,er  before.  It  is  the 
flag  of  mercy  and  liberty ;  it  is  profoundly  respected 
wherever  the  stories  of  sacrifice  and  heroic  deeds  are 
read ;  it  is  more  honored  and  respected  than  ever  by 
the  nations  of  the  earth;  it  has  been  raised  in  the 
name  of  suffering  humanity  and  placed  upon  the  cita 
dels  of  cruel  power ;  it  has  blessed  the  famished  and 
suffering ;  it  has  brought  succor  to  the  distressed  and 
redemption  to  the  oppressed ;  it  is  the  blessed  symbol 
of  honorable  peace  and  not  of  tyrannical  rule. 
Patriotism  is  all-pervading,  sectional  differences  have 
disappeared,  and  the  hearts  of  our  countrymen  are 
at  last  welded  into  an  indissoluble  union." 

The  result  of  the  campaign  was  a  triumphant  vin 
dication  of  the  Republican  party  and  policies,  its 
ticket  having  a  largely  increased  plurality.  It  added 
to  the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  people  in  Mr. 


FAIKBANKS  65 

Fairbanks,  and  gave  him  a  new  hold  on  the  party. 
As  in  prior  campaigns  he  was  the  trusted  leader,  the 
eloquent  and  forceful  champion  of  his  party.  He 
did  not  neglect  his  duties  in  the  Senate — simply 
worked  harder  and  more  hours.  He  did  not  confine 
his  campaign  services  to  Indiana,  but  spoke  in  a  num 
ber  of  other  States. 

He  was  ever  the  champion  of  the  McKinley  admin 
istration.  He  was  not  an  apologist,  for  he  never 
thought  the  administration  needed  an  apologist ;  but 
he  was  at  all  times  willing  to  stand  up  and  show  why 
the  policies  adopted  by  the  administration  were  wise, 
conservative  and  the  best  for  the  nation  and  the 
people.  On  October  7,  1899,  at  a  banquet  of  the 
Marquette  Club,  of  Chicago,  he  was  chosen  to  respond 
to  the  toast,  "The  Present  Administration,"  and  there 
gave  an  elaborate  exposition  of  the  ruling  motives 
and  the  results  of  the  policy  pursued  by  President 
McKinley.  As  a  just  and  able  exposition  of  the  first 
two  years  of  President  McKinley's  term  the  speech 
is  worthy  of  preservation : 

"The  present  administration  needs  neither  an  apol 
ogist  nor  an  eulogist.  Its  imperishable  record  is  writ 
ten  and  is  before  the  world.  It  is  an  administration 
of  arduous  deeds  done,  which  lift  it  above  the  dead 
level  of  history.  It  has  been  confronted  by  great 
questions  of  domestic  policy;  it  has  solved  them. 
It  has  also  encountered  grave  foreign  problems,  and 
well  it  has  met  them.  No  emergency  has  been  so 


66  FAIRBANKS 

great  or  exigency  so  severe  that  it  has  not  been  met 
on  the  high  plane  of  national  duty  and  national 
honor. 

"Few  administrations  ever  succeeded  to  power  with 
more  weighty  responsibilities,  or  of  which  there  were 
more  exalted  expectations.  There  were  years  of  dis 
tress,  years  of  hopelessness  and  crippled  enterprise 
back  of  us.  There  was  a  Macedonian  cry  from  all 
sections  of  the  land  for  relief — -for  deliverance.  The 
administration  was  essentially  pledged  to  the  mainte 
nance  of  the  public  credit,  the  public  faith.  Public 
credit  is  preserved ;  yes,  it  was  never  so  high  at  home 
and  abroad  as  it  is  in  this  historic  hour. 

"The  first  duty  which  was  laid  upon  the  adminis 
tration  was  to  secure  the  readjustment  of  the  tariff 
and  the  enactment  of  a  genuine  protective  measure. 
To  this  end  Congress  was  convoked  in  extraordinary 
session  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment,  and  a  tariff 
law  was  enacted.  It  has  served  well  its  purpose.  It 
instantly  gave  confidence  to  enterprise,  quickened 
depressed  industries,  and  the  signs  and  evidences  of 
commercial  activity  were  soon  witnessed  on  every 
hand.  Domestic  commerce  took  on  new  energy  and 
life,  and  our  foreign  trade  soon  reached  and  passed 
the  high-water  mark  of  the  successful  and  splendid 
administration  of  Benjamin  Harrison. 

"The  determination  of  the  administration  to  pre 
serve  inviolate  the  public  faith  and  inflexibly  uphold 
the  gold  standard  gave  an  assurance  and  confidence 


FAIKBANKS  67 

to  commerce  that  had  all  the  potency  of  the  most 
solemn  congressional  enactment.  Commerce  knew 
that  no  chimerical  monetary  schemes  would  be 
allowed  to  corrupt  or  tarnish  the  circulating  medium 
while  the  present  administration  wras  in  power.  It 
knew  that  free  silver  coinage  was,  for  the  time  being 
at  least,  as  dead  as  the  Rameses,  and  that  in  the  light 
of  practical  experience  the  American  people  could 
not  soon  be  led  to  adopt  any  of  the  current  financial 
sophistries  and  heresies. 

•  "Prosperity  came.  It  came  to  the  seventy-five 
millions  of  American  citizens,  and  in  exceptional 
abundance.  It  came  by  the  assurance  of  wise  and 
conservative  administration,  by  the  enactment  of 
wholesome  laws,  by  the  subtle  touch  of  the  magic 
wand  of  confidence — confidence  which  in  the  final 
analysis  is  the  source  of  all  progress,  all  success,  and 
without  which  there  is  stagnation  and  death.  It 
came  contrary  to  many  fervent  and  unwise  predic 
tions.  It  came  through  the  harmonious  co-operation 
of  three  potent  agencies — a  protective  tariff,  a  gold 
standard,  and  a  sound,  patriotic  administration. 
Were  the  present  administration  committed  to  a  de 
based  silver  currency  and  to  free  trade,  the  splendid 
transformation  we  have  witnessed  would  have  been 
an  utter  and  absolute  impossibility,  and  the  calamities 
from  which  we  have  so  successfully  and  happily 
escaped  would  have  been  but  multiplied. 

"There  were  indeed  domestic  questions  numerous 


68  FAIEBANKS 

and  grave  enough  to  absorb  the  attention  of  the 
administration,  but  it  inherited  an  ample  legacy  of 
international  problems  of  more  than  usual  gravity. 
The  national  conscience  was  stirred  by  Spanish 
atrocities ;  the  people  could  endure  them  no  longer. 
The  Cuban  specter  would  not  down.  All  the  powers 
of  diplomacy  were  invoked  to  bring  peace  and  order 
to  the  blood-stained  island  of  Cuba.  There  was  no 
thought  of  war;  no  desire  for  war.  No  one  knew 
better  than  the  President  the  dreadful  consequences 
of  an  appeal  to  the  sword.  JSTo  one  knew  better  than 
he  that  nothing  so  becomes  power  as  its  sparing  use. 

"While  the  administration  was  employing  all  pos 
sible  agencies  to  secure  peace  and  honorably  avert 
war,  there  were  many  of  our  countrymen  who  were 
impatient  to  recognize  the  belligerency  of  the  Cubans 
— the  independence  of  the  so-called  Cuban  Repub 
lic — and  were  insistent  that  the  conflict  should  begin. 
They  challenged  the  patriotism  of  the  administration 
and  questioned  its  courage,  although  the  President 
had  gathered  harvests  of  enduring  fame  upon  the 
battlefields  of  the  country.  For  humanity's  sake  the 
administration  had  appealed  to  the  Spanish  Cabinet 
in  behalf  of  Cuba,  but  medieval  government  would 
not  hearken  to  the  voice  of  nineteenth  century  civ 
ilization.  All  efforts  to  mediate  a  peace  having 
failed,  the  dread  alternative  of  war  alone  remained. 

"A  crisis  was  at  hand,  as  sharp  and  severe  as  could 
possibly  confront  the  Government;  a  crisis  which 


FAIRBANKS  69 

conies  but  seldom  in  the  life  of  a  nation,  and  yet  too 
oft.  The  administration  with  one  hand  delayed  the 
oncoming  storm,  while  with  the  other  it  pushed  with 
all  possible  dispatch  the  coast  defenses,  the  purchase 
of  munitions  of  war,  and  the  enlargement  of  the 
navy,  which  was  to  give  such  a  splendid  report  of 
itself.  The  crisis  was  supreme,  and  it  was  superbly 
met.  When  the  hour  for  action  came  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States,  interpreting  the  heart  and  con 
science  and  the  inexorable  determination  of  the 
American  people,  declared  for  war.  Spain's  fatal 
hour  had  come.  The  administration  was  prepared  to 
execute  the  decree  of  Congress ;  it  was  ready  to 
strike.  The  thunderbolt  of  war  fell  first  in  the  ob 
scure  harbor  of  Manila,  today  the  best  known  harbor 
on  the  face  of  the  earth. 

"The  supreme  demand  of  the  American  people 
was  voiced  in  the  order  of  the  administration  which 
flashed  to  Hongkong:  'Find  the  Spanish  fleet  and 
destroy  it.'  How  well  this  order  was  interpreted  and 
executed  the  world  knows,  and  history  will  not  for 
get.  The  intrepid  Dewey,  in  one  short  hour,  stood 
with  the  foremost  admirals  of  all  ages.  All  honor 
to  him;  all  honor  to  his  brave  men.  A  nation's 
gratitude  to  them,  each  and  all. 

"An  army  of  a  quarter  of  a  million  men  was  called 
from  the  myriad  vocations  of  peace,  organized: 
equipped,  and  put  in  the  field  with  almost  incredible 
dispatch.  I^o  better  soldiers  ever  answered  the  call 


70  FAIRBANKS 

to  arms.  They  were  American  soldiers,  ready  and 
eager  to  serve  at  the  post  of  duty,  counting  no  sacri 
fice  too  great  in  their  country's  cause. 

"They  came  from  the  four  quarters  of  the  Repub 
lic,  Federal  and  Confederate,  and  their  descendants 
stood  together  in  a  common  cause,  inspired  by  one 
hope,  actuated  by  one  high  purpose,  and  that  was  to 
preserve  a  common  inheritance,  the  glory  of  a  com 
mon  flag.  The  Grants  and  the  Lees,  the  Shafters 
and  the  Wheelers,  the  Lawtons  and  the  Butlers,  bore 
commissions  from  the  same  President.  The  admin 
istration  and  the  public  welcomed  the  disappearance 
of  sectional  differences.  The  Republic  has  experi 
enced  a  new  birth  of  patriotism ;  and,  let  us  hope  and 
pray,  is  reunited  and  unified  forever. 

"But  it  has  been  said  with  some  unction  that  the 
administration  did  not  desire  war.  Be  it  so.  It  is 
a  grave  matter  to  start  the  mighty  enginery  of  sev 
enty-five  millions  of  people,  brave  and  proud,  though 
just  they  are.  Finite  mind  can  compass  the  begin 
ning,  but  Omniscience  alone  can  set  the  boundaries 
of  its  ending.  It  will  indeed  be  a  fatal  hour  for  the 
Republic  when  the  President  of  the  United  States 
shall  love  peace  less  than  war. 

"The  administration  sought  no  sordid  ends,  no  ter 
ritorial  aggrandizement.  It  sought  no  Napoleonic 
extension  of  empire;  it  desired  only  peace  with  her 
boundless  joys,  her  limitless  possibilities;  peace  of 
which  the  country  had  been  so  long  enamored.  It 


FAIRBANKS  71 

had  added  Hawaii  to  our  domain,  through  the  instru 
mentality  of  diplomacy  and  from  the  dictates  of  the 
highest  statesmanship  in  the  national  interest ;  but  it 
coveted  no  other  lands  and  no  other  peoples.  Hawaii 
was  indeed  trophy  enough  to  signalize  any  adminis 
tration. 

"The  Congress,  with  due  deliberation  and  excep 
tional  unanimity,  declared  war,  and  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States,  after  protracted  debate,  ratified 
the  Treaty  of  Peace.  With  the  treaty  came  new  and 
remote  lands,  new  peoples,  new  and  unexpected  re 
sponsibilities  ;  but  they  came  as  the  logical  sequence 
of  war,  and  not  as  the  fruit  of  its  supreme  purpose. 
The  sword  was  drawn  in  the  high  and  holy  cause  of 
humanity ;  it  was  drawn  to  liberate  peoples  from  bar 
barous,  tyrannical  rule,  from  horrors  which  disgraced 
savagery. 

"By  the  Articles  of  Peace  Porto  Rico  is  ours,  to  be 
administered  as  an  exalted  sense  of  justice  shall  re 
quire.  Cuba  is  committed  to  us  in  trust,  and  is  to  be 
given  stable  and  suitable  government,  according  to 
our  pledge.  The  Philippines  are  ours  by  title  abso 
lute,  unassailable.  They  have  come  to  us  and  are 
ours  by  right  universally  recognized  among  the  na 
tions  of  the  earth.  They  passed  to  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  United  States  by  the  cession  of  the  treaty  of 
peace,  duly  ratified  and  exchanged  by  the  two  Powers 
engaged  in  war.  "With  the  extension  of  our  sover 
eignty  there  came  the  duties  which  American  sever- 


72  FAIKBANKS 

eignty  implies — the  enforcement  of  law  and  order, 
the  preservation  of  the  peace. 

"A  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  islands  denied 
the  supremacy  of  the  United  States  in  the  archipel 
ago.  They  challenged  the  exalted  purpose  of  the 
Government;  they  wantonly  fired  upon  the  Amer 
ican  troops  pending  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of 
peace.  "Without  the  pretense  of  provocation  or  the 
shadow  of  justification  they  have  assailed  the  flag 
whose  mission  is  merciful.  The  administration  re 
sisted  the  attack  and  did  what  the  people  of  the 
United  States  desired  it  should  do ;  it  did  its  duty  by 
asserting  the  supremacy  of  the  national  authority  by 
force  of  arms. 

"Our  forces  in  the  Philippines  formed  no  league 
with  Aguinaldo  ;  made  no  compact  with  him  for  sub 
ordinating  the  authority  of  the  United  States  to  his 
self-constituted  dictatorship.  Our  peerless  Captain 
of  the  Seas  added  imperishable  glory  to  the  Amer 
ican  flag.  He  could  not  have  surrendered  the  field 
of  his  incomparable  victory  to  the  insurgent  chief 
tain. 

"When  the  administration  overthrew  the  Spanish 
authority  in  Manila  it  owed  a  high  and  solemn  duty 
to  the  Americans,  the  British,  the  Germans,  the 
French,  the  Spaniards,  and  other  nationalities  in  the 
archipelago,  to  preserve  them  from  massacre  and  to 
save  their  homes  and  property  from  pillage  and  the 
torch.  It  could  not  have  withdrawn  its  support  and 


FAIEBANK.S  73 

left  to  chance  the  protection  of  the  thousands  of  citi 
zens  and  subjects  of  the  leading  nations  of  the  world 
who  were  there  under  the  guardianship  of  Spanish 
authority.  It  would  not  have  comported  to  the  dig 
nity,  the  justice  and  the  mercy  of  the  Republic  for 
the  administration  to  have  recalled  our  victorious 
forces  lest  by  staying  we  should  assume  some  unex 
pected  responsibilities.  Such  a  policy  would  have 
been  dastardly  and  would  have  dishonored  the  flag, 
which  is  without  its  first  blemish.  Yea,  more  than 
that,  it  would  have  been  the  master  crime  of  the  age. 
Moreover,  we  can  never  forget  that  we  were  under  a 
large  moral  obligation  to  the  peace  of  the  world 
which  an  abandonment  of  the  Philippines  would  have 
placed  inevitably  in  serious  peril. 

"We  are  not  now  concerned  with  questions  of  im 
perialism  or  of  expansion.  We  are  occupied  with  the 
paramount  question  of  enforcing  respect  for  the  na 
tional  authority,  of  suppressing  rebellion  against  it. 
Opposition  to  our  authority,  wrherever  it  has  been 
extended  under  universally  recognized  law,  is  rebel 
lion,  whether  it  is  in  Illinois  or  in  the  Philippines. 
We  have  an  irreversible  and  irrevocable  code  of  na 
tional  duty ;  the  flag  must  be  protected  wherever  it 
is  lawfully  raised.  What  American  can  demand 
less  ? 

"We  wish  the  war  had  been  honorably  averted, 
great  and  splendid  as  have  been  its  results,  but,  in 
God's  providence,  that  was  impossible.  We  could 


74  FAIRBANKS 

not  desire  to  avoid  any  of  the  responsibilities  or  duties 
which  justly  devolve  upon  a  victorious  army;  a 
country  brave  enough  and  good  enough  to  go  to  war 
in  humanity's  name  must  be  just  enough  and  brave 
enough  to  accept  the  consequences,  whatever  they 
may  be.  To  attempt  to  escape  the  burdens  fairly 
arising  out  of  our  own  course  and  conduct  would 
earn  for  us  the  reproach  of  the  civilized  world  and 
the  forfeiture  of  our  own  national  self-respect.  We 
have  but  one  way  to  go,  and  that  is  in  the  path  of 
duty.  There  all  honor  lies." 

*         *         •& 

"The  administration  has  been  able,  well  poised, 
firm,  courageous,  avoiding  no  responsibility  and 
shunning  no  duty.  It  has  been  an  epoch-making  ad 
ministration.  It  has  walked  in  untried  paths  with 
no  guide  except  the  national  conscience.  It  has  ob 
served  the  fundamental  truth  that  in  a  Republic  the 
people  are  the  source  of  all  power,  and  it  has  taken 
them  into  its  confidence  in  fullest  measure.  Its 
North  Star  has  been  the  people's  will.  It  is  clean; 
the  atmosphere  which  surrounds  it  is  wholesome.  A 
high  sense  of  civic  duty  characterizes  all  branches  of 
the  public  service ;  and  the  public  business  is  dis 
patched  without  friction  and  with  fidelity. 

"It  has  managed  well  the  finances  of  the  Govern 
ment.  Illinois  is  entitled  to  her  full  share  of  credit 
for  this,  for  she  gave  to  the  administration  a  Secre 
tary  who  ranks  with  the  foremost  Secretaries  of  the 


FAIRBANKS  75 

Treasury ;  with  Hamilton,  Gallatin,  Chase  and  Sher 
man.  His  mastery  of  the  science  of  finance  enabled 
him  not  only  to  preserve  the  credit  of  the  country 
from  the  shock  of  war,  but  to  advance  it  to  the  high 
est  point  ever  attained.  The  ordinary  fiscal  require 
ments  of  the  Government  have  been  promptly  met, 
and  the  war-chest  has  been  amply  supplied.  Bonds 
have  been  sold  upon  terms  better  than  have  been 
obtained  for  either  the  purposes  of  peace  or  war. 
The  money  came  from  the  pockets  of  the  people. 
The  capitalists  of  Europe  were  eager  to  take  them, 
but  there  was  no  need  of  their  assistance.  Syndi 
cates  at  home  wished  to  subscribe  for  them,  but  the 
reliance  of  the  administration  was  upon  the  great 
mass  of  the  people ;  and  how  splendidly  have  they 
justified  its  confidence !  *  Their  only  regret  was  that 
they  could  not  give  the  Government,  in  the  hour  of 
its  necessity,  millions  more  than  were  required. 

"The  United  States  never  stood  higher  in  the 
esteem  of  the  great  Powers  of  the  earth  than  now. 
Her  justice,  her  magnanimity  and  her  power  have 
become  manifest  to  all.  It  is,  indeed,  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  our  country  should  sustain  relations 
of  amity  with  other  countries.  Our  commerce  is 
expanding,  and  more  than  ever,  seeking  distant  mar 
kets.  Nothing  will  more  distinctly  aid  in  its  exten 
sion  than  the  existence  of  cordial  relations  with 
foreign  peoples.  We  must  win  our  way  to  the  com- 


7f>  FAIRBANKS 

mand  of  the  world's  trade  by  compelling,  through 
our  course  and  example,  the  world's  respect. 

"The  administration  has  scrupulously  observed  our 
international  obligations.  It  has  been  no  less  regard 
ful  of  the  rights  of  other  nations  than  it  has  been 
rigidly  insistent  upon  the  recognition  of  our  own.  It 
has  cultivated  good  neighborhood  with  all  of  the 
great  Powers,  and  today  there  is  no  nation  with  which 
the  United  States  is  not  upon  terms  of  cordial  rela 
tionship. 

"It  has  sought  no  political  or  entangling  alliance 
with  any  Power;  it  is  bound  to  none  except  by  the 
ties  of  commercial  interest  and  mutual  respect." 

The  speech  was  also,  in  part,  a  prophecy  of  what 
would  be  the  claims  of  the  Republican  party  the  next 
year  for  the  continued  confidence  of  the  people. 
Free  silverism  had  been  badly  defeated  in  1896  and 
the  elections  in  the  various  States  in  1898  had  em 
phasized  that  defeat,  but  free  silverism  was  not  dead. 
It  still  was  rampant  and  defiant,  and  early  gave  evi 
dence  that  its  spirit  would  control  the  Democratic 
National  Convention  in  1900  and  a  ticket  would  be 
nominated  on  that  issue.  It  was  this  fact  that  im 
pelled  Republican  speakers  to  dwell  largely  on  the 
monetary  question  in  all  their  addresses  before  the 
public. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


HIS  SERVICES  TO  HIS  PARTY— Continued. 

T  OXG  before  it  came  time  to  name  candidates  for 
-•— '  President  in  1900  it  was  practically  known  that 
the  two  who  had  opposed  each  other  in  1896  would 
again  be  called  to  lead  their  respective  parties.  The 
administration  of  President  McKinley  had  been  so 
eminently  successful  that  his  party  had  no  thought  of 
choosing  another,  and  Mr.  Bryan  had  so  impressed 
himself  on  the  free-silver  wing  of  the  Democratic 
party  that  they  would  be  satisfied  with  none  but  him, 
so  the  meeting  of  the  conventions  were  little  more 
than  perfunctory,  except  in  the  adoption  of  a  plat 
form  and  selecting  candidates  for  the  second  place. 
Mr.  Fairbanks  was  again  sent  to  represent  his  State, 
and  was  made  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Reso 
lutions.  This  distinction  arose  from  two  causes — 
his  eminent  fitness  for  the  place,  and  because  it  was 
understood  he  was  more  nearly  the  personal  repre 
sentative  of  President  McKinley  than  any  other  dele 
gate.  He  knew  the  views  of  the  President  on  all  the 
great  questions ;  he  was  sound  on  the  financial  ques 
tion,  stood  with  the  President  in  the  manner  and 

-77- 


78  FAIRBANKS 

method  of  governing  our  new  possessions  and  tlio  pro 
posed  construction  of  an  isthmian  cantil. 

On  his  return  to  Indianapolis  he  was  invited  to 
deliver  an  address  on  the  issues.  In  his  clear,  logical 
manner  he  presented  the  issues  as  they  appeared  to 
him  and  to  his  party.  He  said : 

"I  shall  discuss  in  "a  plain  way  and  as  briefly  as 
may  be  some  of  the  questions  engaging  the  attention 
of  the  American  people.  We  should  approach  them 
as  patriots  rather  than  as  partisans,  inspired  only  by 
the  purpose  to  advance  the  best  interests  of  our  coun 
try.  Prejudice  and  passion  have  no  rightful  place 
in  the  august  tribunal  where  the  destiny  of  the  Amer 
ican  Republic  is  determined. 

"We  come  before  the  people  with  no  apology  upon 
our  lips,  but  with  a  luminous  record  of  righteous 
deeds  done,  with  promise  wrought  into  fulfillment. 
We  are  not  ashamed  of  our  old  issues  nor  afraid  to 
frankly  espouse  our  new  ones.  Our  record  is  before 
the  people,  and  it  is  a  part  of  the  enduring  history  of 
the  Republic.  We  could  not  change  it  if  we  would, 
and  we  would  not  if  we  could. 

"Four  years  ago  we  promised  to  enact  a  tariff  law 
which  would  supply  the  federal  treasury  with  ade 
quate  revenue  and  promote  American  interests.  We 
have  redeemed  this  pledge  by  the  enactment  of  the 
Dingley  law.  This  law  established  confidence, '  re 
opened  factories,  erected  new  enterprises  and  opened 
the  way  to  profitable  employment  for  the  great  army 


FAIRBANKS  79 

of  unemployed  workingmen.  The  products  of  the 
farm  found  ready  markets  at  enhanced  values;  the 
treasury  was  replenished  and  prosperity  prevailed 

throughout  the  United  States  in  unusual  degree." 

*  *         * 

"No  one  has  shared  more  in  the  prosperity  stimu 
lated  by  the  McKinley  administration  than  the  farm 
ers  of  the  United  States.  No  one  suffered  more  than 
they  during  the  last  administration.  Their  gain  in 
the  enhanced  value  of  live  stock  and  ten  staple  crops 

for  four  years  is  more  than  one  billion  dollars." 
-K         *         -x- 

"It  has  been  but  a  few  years  since  the  streets  and 
highways  were  crowded  with  idle  workmen,  vainly 
searching  for  work — work  at  any  wages.  It  has  been 
but  a  few  years  since  idle  men,  pinched  by  want  and 
hunger,  were  marching  upon  Washington,  appealing 
for  relief.  A  revolution  has  occurred,  peaceful  in  its 
process,  mighty  and  significant  in  its  results.  The 
ranks  of  the  employed  have  been  increased  by  hun 
dreds  of  thousands.  '  Labor  has  had  work.  It  has 
not  been  asking  bread  at  the  hands  of  charity.  It 
has  been  building  homes ;  it  has  been  educating  chil 
dren  ;  it  has  been  increasing  deposits  in  building  and 
loan  associations  and  savings  banks.  Shall  we  reverse 
this  gratifying  condition  ?  Shall  we  again  increase 
the  ranks  of  the  unemployed  ?  Shall  work  continue 
to  seek  labor,  or  shall  we  return  to  the  days  when 
labor  was  anxiously  seeking  work  ?" 

#  -x-         # 
(6) 


80  FAIRBANKS 

"Those  who  toil  should  not  he  defrauded  of  the 
fruit  of  their  lahor.  There  is  no  device  that  so  sure 
ly  cheats  lahor  as  a  depreciated  currency,  and  it  is 
the  part  of  good  government  to  provide  for  a  circu 
lating  medium  which  shall  he  as  good  in  the  hands  of 
lahor  as  in  the  hands  of  capital.  It  must  defraud 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  There  is  something 
almost  cruel,  it  seems  the  very  irony  of  fate,  for  the 
owners  of  silver  bullion  to  attenipt  to  secure  the  sup 
port  of  those  who  toil  to  the  debasement  of  the  cur 
rency  which  they  must  receive  for  their  lahor." 

*  *         # 

"Wages  are  none  too  high.  The  overthrow  of  the 
gold  standard  and  the  establishment  of  silver  mono 
metallism  would  mean  their  immediate  and  inevi 
table  reduction.  A  reduction  in  the  value  of  the 
money  in  which  wages  are  paid  is,  in  effect,  a  reduc 
tion  of  wages." 

*  x         * 

"We  can  not  contemplate  the  currency  issue,  grave 
and  important  as  it  is,  without  acknowledging  the 
great  debt  the  country  owes  to  those  splendid  men 
who  put  country  above  party  and  enabled  us  to 
achieve  a  great  victory  in  1896 — the  Gold  Democrats. 
We  must  merit  their  further  confidence  and  their 
potential  support  by  a  steadfast  adherence  to  sound 
and  wholesome  policies  and  administration." 

*  #         # 

"The  record  of  the  administration  in  the  war  with 


FAIKBANKS  81 

Spain  and  with  respect  to  the  problems  growing  out 
of  it  challenges  our  admiration.  Its  course  has  been 
dictated  by  the  loftiest  motives,  and  a  brilliant  chap 
ter  has  been  added  to  American  history. 

"When  the  present  administration  came  into  pow 
er  there  was  no  thought  of  war.  It  was  confronted 
only  by  pressing  and  important  problems  of  peace, 
the  restoration  of  prosperity  among  the  people,  and  to 
these  it  promptly  and  seriously  addressed  itself. 

"The  war  in  Cuba,  which  had  existed  so  long,  be 
came  more  and  more  intolerable,  and  it  was  early 
apparent  that  an  international  problem  of  great  grav 
ity  was  at  our  very  door.  A  resolution  recognizing 
the  belligerency  of  the  Cuban  insurgents  was  intro 
duced  in  the  Senate  soon  after  the  inauguration  of 
President  McKinley,  and  after  protracted  debate 
passed,  but  it  failed  to  pass  the  Eepublican  House. 
It  was  opposed  by  the  President,  who  regarded  such 
a  measure  as  tending  seriously  to  involve  the  United 
States  in  perplexing  complications,  and  because  such 
recognition  would  have  no  beneficial  effect  to  the 
struggling  Cubans,  and  would  abate  none  of  the  hor 
rors  and  brutalities  which  shocked  the  moral  sense 
of  the  world. 

"The  President  desired  permanent  peace  estab 
lished  in  Cuba  and  the  independence  of  the  Cubans 
secured.  To  this  end  he  tendered  the  good  offices  of 
the  United  States  to  the  Spanish  Cabinet,  While 
thus  invoking  the  peaceful  instrumentalities  of  di- 


82  FAIRBANKS 

plomacy,  the  opposition  was  unsparing  in  its  criti 
cism  of  the  Executive.  Cuba  lay  so  close  to  our  doors 
that  turbulence  and  revolution  within  her  borders 
were  instantly  and  sensibly  felt  by  us.  Twice  we 
had  been  brought  to  the  very  verge  of  war  by  her 
conduct.  The  Black  Warrior  incident  and  the  Vir- 
ginius  affair  had  in  their  time  profoundly  disturbed 
the  country,  and  war  was  on  each  occasion  averted  by 
the  exercise  of  great  tact  and  a  spirit  of  forbearance 
on  the  part  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

"For  years  our  coast  cities  were  ravaged  by  dis 
ease  which  had  its  permanent  abode  in  the  pestilen 
tial  cities  of  Cuba.  Our  national  honor,  our  national 
peace  and  the  health  of  our  people  demanded  that 
Spanish  misrule  should  cease  in  the  island  and  it 
should  be  permitted  to  enjoy  an  enlightened,  inde 
pendent  government. 

"In  the  midst  of  the  President's  efforts  to  bring 
peace  and  independence  to  Cuba  came  the  overwhelm 
ing,  unspeakable  tragedy  in  the  harbor  of  Havana. 
The  demand  for  immediate  vengeance  swept  across 
the  land  and  the  people  were  stirred  as  never  before 
except  at  the  shot  at  Fort  Sumter. 

"The  country  will  not  forget  the  dark  hours  that 
preceded  the  declaration  of  war.  They  will  never 
forget  the  strong,  calm,  conservative,  straightforward 
course  of  the  President,  unmoved  by  the  clamor,  the 
criticism,  the  unkindness  of  the  unreflective.  His 
resistance  of  the  urgent  cry  of  the  opposition  for  war 


FAIEBANKS  S3 

was  in  nowise  due  to  any  lack  of  confidence  in  the 
result  of  the  issue  or  to  any  want  of  faith  in  the 
power  of  the  government. 

"We  were  unprepared  for  war.  We  had  so  long 
pursued  the  ways  of  peace  that  we  were  unfit  even 
for  one  engagement.  The  inadequacy  of  our  fleet 
was  everywhere  recognized.  Our  coasts  were  unpro 
tected.  IKo  one  knew  but  what  the  opening  engage 
ment  with  Spain  would  be  the  signal  for  a  general 
engagement  among  European  Powers.  But  the  oppo 
sition  took  no  thought  of  this.  The  country  will  not 
forget,  amidst  the  smoke  and  fustian  of  a  political 
campaign,  with  what  superb  courage  the  President 
held  war  in  check  when  it  became  inevitable.  Prepa 
rations  were  pushed  with  the  utmost  expedition. 
Amidst  it  all  was  to  be  heard  the  opposition  clamor 
for  war  without  delay.  Those  who  criticised  most 
then  criticise  most  now.  Those  who  were  most  eager 
for  war  were  quickest  to  run  from  our  duty  and  re 
sponsibility  when  it  closed. 

"The  response  of  our  countrymen  to  the  call  to 
arms  is  the  pride  of  all.  The  brave  young  men  of 
the  country  came  from  every  vocation  with  a  spon 
taneity  that  showed  that  the  American  people  be 
lieved  in  the  righteousness  of  our  cause  and  were  de 
termined  to  sustain  the  patriotic  course  of  the  Presi 
dent. 

"The  dramatic  and  decisive  hour  had  corne.  The 
flag  of  Spain  must  be  withdrawn  and  the  flag  of  a 
republic  be  raised  in  its  place. 


84  FA1BBANKS 

"The  world  knows  with  what  swiftness  the  Presi 
dent  made  war  when  in  due  course  it  had  been  de 
clared  by  Congress.  The  matchless  victory  of  our 
navy  in  the  Philippines  and  the  resplendent  triumph 
of  our  army  and  navy  in  Cuba  have  become  an  en 
during  part  of  our  heroic  history. 

"Fellow-citizens,  it  is  impossible  to  overestimate 
the  importance  of  the  impending  campaign,  its  far- 
reaching  significance.  Indiana,  great  and  splendid 
State  that  she  is,  should  not  support  any  reactionary 
policy ;  she  will  not.  She  will  stand  firm  as  she  has 
stood  heretofore  in  favor  of  a  protective  tariff,  the 
gold  standard,  national  duty  and  the  honor  of  our 
flag.  No  stain  rests  upon  it;  symbol  of  liberty,  jus 
tice  and  mercy.  Let  us  give  our  potential  support  to 
an  administration  which  makes  for  prosperity  and 
honor  at  home  and  for  prestige  and  honor  abroad." 

In  this  masterly  speech  Mr.  Fairbanks  vindicated 
the  action  of  the  President  and  the  Republican  party 
in  the  terms  granted  to  Spain  and  for  what  had  been 
done  in  the  new  possessions.  Mr.  Fairbanks  made 
many  other  speeches  during  that  campaign,  growing 
continually  in  strength  as  a  campaign  speaker  and 
in  the  confidence  of  his  party.  His  services  were  in 
great  demand  in  other  States,  and  wherever  he  ap 
peared  he  was  sure  of  an  attentive  and  appreciative 
hearing.  The  campaign  resulted  in  a  great  triumph 
for  the  Republican  party,  not  only  in  Indiana  but  in 
the  country.  By  this  time  the  attention  of  the  whole 


FAIKBANKS  85 

country  had  been  drawn  to  Mr.  Fairbanks,  and  many 
prophecies  were  made  that  in  1904:  he  would  be  the 
logical  candidate  to  succeed  Mr.  McKinley.  He  was 
known  to  possess  the  entire  confidence  of  the  Presi 
dent,  and  his  calm,  logical  and  conservative  mind  had 
taken  hold  on  the  party  throughout  the  nation. 

On  the  last  day  of  December,  1900,  he  delivered 
a  notable  address  before  the  Columbia  Club  of  Indi 
anapolis,  the  topic  assigned  him  being  "The  Future 
of  the  Kepublican  Party."  The  speech  added  much 
to  his  reputation,  and  was  widely  circulated.  He 
said: 

"This  is  indeed  a  propitious  hour.  We  stand  upon 
the  dividing  line  between  two  great  centuries — the 
one  great  in  arduous  deeds  done,  in  history  written ; 
the  other  mighty  in  possibilities  of  things  to  be.  The 
Republican  party  can  look  upon  the  good  old  century 
which  is  rapidly  fading  away  with  pride  and  satisfac 
tion,  and  upon  the  new  century  with  hope  and  confi 
dence. 

"The  old  century !  What  a  mighty  century  it  has 
been!  About  midway  the  Republican  party  was 
born,  and  made  luminous  its  second  half.  It  en 
larged  the  meaning  of  liberty;  it  gave  to  freedom  a 
significance  unknown  to  the  immortal  founders  of  the 
Republic ;  it  wrote  a  brilliant  chapter  with  the  sword 
and  established  our  industrial  supremacy  among  the 
nations  of  the  earth;  it  raised  our  flag  in  honor 
among  the  great  Powers, 


86  FAIRBANKS 

"It  is  indeed  a  favorable  omen  that  the  twentieth 
century,  which  has  already  entered  our  eastern  gates, 
will  witness  the  Republican  party  in  the  ascendancy ; 
not  a  decrepit  party,  not  a  mere  political  reminis 
cence,  but  a  party  in  the  very  flush  of  power,  radiant 
with  hope  and  high  purpose,  commissioned  anew  by 
the  American  people.  The  Great  German  Chancel 
lor,  Bismarck,  once  said :  'Germany  has  no  power  to 
fear  except  the  wrath  of  Almighty  God.'  We  may 
-appropriate  this  utterance  without  vainglory.  We 
realize,  however,  that  boastfulness  is  vulgar,  that  real 
strength  is  its  own  herald.  Yet,  as  we  stand  at  this 
supreme  historic  hour,  we  may  be  pardoned  a  word 
as  to  our  greatness.  Our  power,  which  is  to  be  found 
in  our  vast  domain  and  in  our  marvelous  material 
development,  is  not  our  chief  glory.  Our  charity 
and  our  humanity  are  our  principal  evidences  of  na 
tional  grandeur. 

"Naturally,  increased  power  brings  added  respon 
sibility.  The  problems  of  the  twentieth  century  will 
tax  the  genius  and  courage  and  patriotism  of  the  Re 
publican  party.  The  questions  immediately  before 
us  do  not  invite  repose.  Many  of  them  will  continue 
to  be  vital,  living  questions  far  into  the  future.  What 
we  have  done  in  the  past  is  of  little  matter.  Our  con 
tinued  ascendancy  must  depend  upon  the  skill  and 
the  success  with  which  we  meet  the  increasing  and 
inexorable  demands  of  the  years  to  come. J  The  high 
record  we  have  made  will  noi  greatly  aid  us ;  it  will 


FAIEBANKS  87 

rather  serve  to  make  our  path  more  difficult,  for  more 
will  be  expected  of  us.  The  higher  we  have  risen,  the 
higher  we  must  rise." 

*         *         * 

"We  have  an  abiding  sense  of  security  against 
alien  assault.  Our  institutions  are  not  in  peril  from 
abroad.  They  must  be  secure  from  perils  within. 
Our  sense  of  justice  must  keep  pace  with  our  ex 
panding  power.  We  must  see  to  it  that  right  and 
might  dwell  together  as  in  perpetual  wedlock.  The 
Nation  is  in  no  danger,  no  matter  how  numerous  its 
population  and  great  its  material  resources,  if  the 
people  are  pervaded  with  a  sense  of  justice,  and  par 
ties  which  control  the  Government  are  actuated  alone 
by  high  motives.  There  will,  indeed,  be  great  neces 
sity  in  the  future  of  a  party  of  self-restraint. 

"The  Republican  party  had  its  birth  in  a  quick 
ened  national  conscience.  Its  immortal  founders 
dedicated  it  to  the  cause  of  human  liberty,  the  high 
est  and  best  interests  of  the  people.  It  must  be  true 
to  the  ideals  and  purposes  of  its  founders  and  to  the 
great  men  wrho  have  raised  it  to  its  present  proud 
eminence.  One  of  the  greatest  of  these  [General 
Harrison]  sits  at  this  board,  possessing  the  admira 
tion  and  respect  of  his  grateful  countrymen.  He  has 
made  a  brilliant  page  in  the  country's  history  which 
time  will  not  efface." 

•X-  4f  -X- 

"The  Republican  party  will  continue  to  be  a  party 


88  FAIRBANKS 

of  broad  sympathies,  the  advocate  of  human  liberty 
and  the  inflexible  foe  to  sectional,  race  or  class  spirit. 
Class  has  no  place  in  its  patriotic  principles,  for  class 
is  the  fruit  of  empire,  the  enemy  of  the  Republic. 
It  will  continue  to  be  the  protector  of  both  labor  and 
capital — the  two  mighty  pillars  upon  which  our 
social  and  political  fabric  rests.  The  party  which 
would  pull  down  either  invites  both  to  hopeless  ruin. 
The  party  which  does  not  comprehend  this  is  deficient 
in  statesmanship  and  is  an  enemy  of  the  Republic. 

"It  will  not  abandon  the  contest  it  has  made  in 
the  interest  of  a  sound  monetary  system,  which  is  the 
foundation  rock  of  commercial  success.  Good  gov 
ernment  and  good  money  must  co-exist.  The  dollar 
current  is  essentially  a  Republican  dollar  and  it  must 
be  preserved  without  taint  or  tarnish." 
•*  -x-  # 

"The  Republican  party  will  in  the  new  century 
.cut  the  narrow  isthmus  which  divides  the  Atlantic 
from  the  Pacific  and  fulfill  the  long-cherished  hope 
of  the  American  people  and  under  their  undisputed 
control.  This  stupendous  work,  the  like  of  which  in 
its  vastness  is  nowhere  to  be  found,  will  be  under 
taken  under  Republican  auspices  in  the  no  distant 
future." 

-X-  -X-  •* 

"There  are  more  peoples  under  the  flag  today  than 
ever  before.  There  are  those  who  have  been  stran 
gers  to  us.  Our  flag  has  delivered  them  from  imperial 


FAIEBANKS  89 

rule.  We  must  deal  with  tliem ;  we  must  have  a 
care  for  them.  They  have  not  hitherto  tasted  of  the 
fruits  of  liberty.  They  know  not  the  beneficent  ways 
of  republican  government.  We  must  secure  to  them 
the  amplest  fruits  of  the  Republic,  and  in  good  time 
they  will  come  to  reverence  it  as  their  deliverer  from 
imperialistic  rule  and  find  in  it  the  assurance  and 
guaranty  of  freedom  and  civilization. 

"The  future  of  the  Republican  party!  What 
splendid  possibilities  lie  before  it !  Will  it  be  true 
to  its  traditions  ?  Will  it  be  true  to  its  opportuni 
ties  ?  It  will  live  as  long  as  it  serves  well  the  coun 
try,  and  it  should  live  no  longer.  It  is  a  means,  not 
an  end.  It  is  an  instrument  for  the  advancement  of 
good  government  and  we  should  no  more  consent  to 
its  debasement  than  we  would  welcome  national  deg 
radation.  Those  in  whom  the  thought  of  personal 
aggrandizement  is  uppermost  should  not  be  permitted 
to  control  its  destiny.  If  we  would  have  pure  govern 
ment  we  must  have  a  pure  party — one  whose  sole  aim 
is  to  promote  wholesome  administration. 

"Washington,  in  his  immortal  farewell  address,  ex 
horted  his  countrymen  against  the  excesses  of  party 
spirit.  Webster  pointed  out  the  peril  to  the  founda 
tions  of  our  institutions  if  party  be  substituted  for 
country.  We  will  not  forget  that  the  power  of  the 
Republican  party  abides  with  the  people;  that,  as 
much  as  we  love  the  party,  our  country  must  be  the 
real  object  of  our  concern  and  that  our  power  will 


90  FAIRBANKS 

endure  only  as  we  shall  truly  serve  it.  Republican 
ism  and  Americanism  must  ever  be  synonymous. 

"New  issues  will  arise,  new  questions  will  divide 
the  people,  of  which  we  know  not  now.  The  Repub 
lican  party  will  be  found  espousing  those  issues  and 
those  question  which  will  make  for  the  stability,  the 
honor  and  the  welfare  of  the  country.  It  must  hold 
fast  to  those  great  fundamental  doctrines  of  human 
liberty  for  which  our  fathers  stood ;  for  the  rights  of 
all,  and  the  equality  of  all  before  the  law.  If  it  ad 
vocates  principles  and  policies  which  will  square  with 
these  wholesome  truths,  the  years  of  its  power  and 
supremacy  are  unnumbered  and  its  beneficent  influ 
ence  unmeasured." 

There  are  many  sentences  in  this  great  speech  that 
ought  to  find  an  abiding  lodgment  in  the  hearts  and 
minds  of  all  the  people.  They  are  not  mere  words 
thrown  together  to  make  phrases  for  oratorical  effect, 
but  they  come  from  the  keystone  of  his  conscience; 
they  are  the  axioms  of  his  political  life  and  the 
guides  of  his  public  service.  They  are  a  part  of  the 
serious  thought  and  conviction  of  the  man,  The 
whole  speech  is  made  up  of  such  utterances,  but  some 
of  the  sentences  are  so  telling  and  are  so  character 
istic  of  the  man  that  we  reproduce  them : 

"Our  power,  which  is  to  be  found  in  our  vast  do 
main  and  in  our  marvelous  material  development,  is 
not  our  chief  glory.  Our  charity  and  our  humanity 
are  our  principal  evidences  of  national  grandeur." 


FAIRBANKS  91 

"Our  sense  of  justice  must  keep  pace  with  our  ex 
panding  power." 

"We  must  see  to  it  that  right  and  might  dwell 
together  as  in  perpetual  wedlock." 

"The  Nation  is  in  no  danger,  no  matter  how 
numerous  its  population  and  great  its  material  re 
sources,  if  the  people  are  pervaded  with  a  sense  of 
justice,  and  parties  which  control  the  government 
are  actuated  alone  by  high  motives." 

"Good  government  and  good  money  must  coexist." 

"It  [the  Republican  party]  will  exist  as  long  as  it 
serves  well  the  country,  and  it  should  live  no  longer. 
It  is  a  means,  not  an  end." 

"If  we  would  have  a  pure  government  we  must 
have  a  pure  party — one  whose  sole  aim  is  to  promote 


wholesome  administration." 


"We  will  not  forget  that  the  power  of  the  Repub 
lican  party  abides  with  the  people ;  that  as  much  as 
we  love  the  party,  our  country  must  be  the  real  object, 
of  our  concern  and  our  power  will  endure  only  as  we 
shall  truly  serve  it." 

Crisp,  sharp,  decisive,  these  sentences  are  the  ut 
terances  of  a  strong  man,  of  a  man  whose  soul  is 
imbued  with  thoughts  of  the  future  greatness  of  the 
country,  and  the  responsibilities  of  individuals  and 
parties.  They  are  patriotic  as  well  as  wise.  Some 
of  them  contain  a  warning  note  to  his  own  party  as 
well  as  to  all  other  parties,  that  power  and  control 
only  come  to  the  party  that  serves  the  country  best. 


92  FAIRBANKS 

They  may,  indeed,  be  classed  as  political  axioms. 
Mr.  Lincoln  said  that  the  country  could  not  long  en 
dure  half  slave  and  half  free.  So  Mr.  Fairbanks 
says  that  a  political  party  can  endure  only  so  long 
as  it  serves  the  country  faithfully  and  well. 

To  those  given  may  be  added  a  few  taken  from  an 
address  delivered  before  the  Americus  Club  of  Pitts- 
burg. 

"Without  harmony  between  labor  and  capital  there 
can  be  no  real,  enduring  progress  and  prosperity.  It 
should  always  be  remembered  that  each  has  rights 
which  the  other  should  respect,  and  that  they  should 
dwell  together  in  amity. " 

"We  should  seek  to  inculcate  a  sense  of  justice 
among  men;  so  that  capital  shall  deal  fairly  with 
labor,  and  labor  deal  with  equal  fairness  with  cap 
ital." 

"It  [the  Republican  party]  should  always  be  care 
ful  in  promise  and  quick  and  resolute  in  fulfillment. 
So  long  as  it  keeps  faith  with  the  people,  the  people 
will  keep  faith  with  it." 

In  1902  he  opened  the  political  campaign  in  Indi 
ana  at  Anderson;  in  a  speech  reviewing  the  past 
achievements  of  the  Republican  party  and  the  record 
of  the  McKinley  administration.  Like  all  his  polit 
ical  speeches,  it  was  full  of  crisp  statements  of  facts, 
sharply  defined  conclusions  and  fair  and  candid  pre 
sentations.  fj  Although  it  was  the  opening  speech  of 
what  is  called  in  politics  "an  off-year  campaign,"  it 


FAIRBANKS  93 

attracted  wide  attention  at  the  time  of  its  delivery, 
and  as  a  full  and  forceful  presentation  of  the  prin 
ciples  of  the  Republican  party  is  worthy  of  reproduc 
tion,  but  space  forbids  more  than  a  few  extracts  from 
the  more  striking  sentences : 

"Our  record  is  written.  It  has  been  written  suc 
cessfully.  By  it  we  must  be  judged.  In  all  Amer 
ican  history  there  is  no  record  of  any  political  party 
which  equals,  much  less  surpasses  it.  -Parties,  like 
individuals,  must  be  judged  by  deeds  done,  by  things 
accomplished,  and  not  by  mere  promises  made.  We 
must  account  to  the  people  for  our  stewardship.  We 
have  been  entrusted  with  vast  power.  Have  we  been 
faithful  ?  The  past  five  years  constitute  but  a  brief 
period  in  the  Nation's  history,  yet  how  long  it  seems 
when  measured  by  things  accomplished  for  the  well- 
being  of  the  people." 

*  .       #         * 

"Idle  labor  is  not  a  good  customer  for  the  farmer. 
Abundant  crops  signify  nothing  if  there  is  a  poor 
buyer,  or  if  they  are  allowed  to  perish  in  the  field." 
•x-         -x-         * 

"We  do  not  hold  that  the  protective  tariff  is  an  in 
spired  decree.  It  is,  at  most,  an  expedient  of  govern 
ment.  Tariff  schedules  are  not  sacred.  They  are 
devised  to  support  the  government  and  to  sustain  our 
industrial  life — not  to  threaten  it." 

*  *         * 

"It  is  not  at  all  necessary  to  resort  to  such  a  dan- 


94  FAIRBANKS 

gerous  and  unscientific  expedient  as  that  of  over 
throwing  the  tariff  system  to  reach  the  evils  which 
may,  from  time  to  time,  inhere  in  trusts.  Those 
evils  will  be  eradicated,  not  by  indirection,  but  di 
rectly;  -not  by  breaking  down  an  economic  system, 
long  established,  but  by  laws  aimed  directly  at  them 
and  enforced  against  them.  There  is  no  combination 
of  capital  so  strong  that  the  people  are  not  stronger. 
The  power  to  cure  all  evils  abides  in  the  people  and 
they  will  never  alienate  it." 

•x-         *         -x- 

"One  of  the  greatest  correctives  of  abuses  is  pub 
licity,  and  publicity  should  be  required  wherever 
abuses  are  supposed  to  exist.  ~No  great  wrong  will 
long  exist  in  the  full  light  of  publicity.  Publicity 
will  not  cure  all  wrongs,  but  it  will  result  in  curing 


"When  we  overthrew  Spanish  power  it  became  our 
supreme  duty  to  hold  disorder  in  check,  to  protect  the 
dependent  from  pillage  and  the  torch,  and  when  the 
islands  were  ceded  to  the  United  States  it  became  as 
much  our  duty  to  maintain  peace  there  as  in  any 
other  territory  belonging  to  the  United  States." 

•3f  -X-  -?f 

"It  pays  nations,  as  well  as  individuals,  to  adhere 
to  the  inflexible  principles  of  fair  dealing.  No  doubt 
the  United  States  could  have  ignored  the  Clayton- 
Bulwer  treaty  and  proceeded  with  the  construction 


FAIRBANKS  95 

of  the  canal,  but  it  preferred,  as  it  always  prefers, 
the  frank  and  honorable  way." 

#  •*         * 

"When  we  cast  our  ballot  with  one  hand  we  should 
hold  in  the  other  the  records  of  the  two  great  political 
parties.  We  should  ponder  them,  reflect  upon  them, 
We  should  not  be  governed  by  what  the  parties  have 
promised,  but  by  what  they  have  accomplished.  The 
party  which  should  win  is  not  the  party  that  promises 
most,  but  which  performs  most." 

*  *         •& 

"The  destiny  of  the  Republic  is  what  we  make  it. 
Let  the  young  men  of  Indiana  whose  fathers  have 
wrought  so  well  in  building  up  State  and  Nation 
unite  with  the  Republican  party,  which  has  served 
the  country  wisely  and  patriotically  in  every  supreme 
crisis.  Inspired  by  its  heroic  past,  and  by  the  mem 
ory  of  its  mighty  statesmen  dead;  and  by  the  example 
of  its  statesmen  living,  aid  in  carrying  our  country 
forward  in  the  way  of  peace,  honor  and  prosperity, 
and  to  the  highest  and  best  destiny." 

In  this  campaign  Mr.  Fairbanks  was  a  candidate 
to  succeed  himself  as  Senator.  The  result  of  the  cam 
paign  was  a  great  personal  triumph.  The  Republican 
State  ticket  was  elected  by  a  plurality  larger  than 
ever  before  given,  with  one  exception,  while  the  ma 
jority  in  the  Legislature  was  the  greatest  in  the  his 
tory  of  any  party.  Mr.  Fairbanks  was  reflected  by 
the  unanimous  Republican  vote. 
(7) 


96  FAIRBANKS 

As  lias  been  remarked  heretofore,  Mr.  Fairbanks' 
services  to  his  party  were  by  no  means  confined  to 
speech-making.  He  advised  and  counseled  as  to  the 
declaration  of  principles  and  the  conduct  and  man 
agement  of  campaigns.  And  amid  it  all  he  never 
ceased  his  efforts  to  lift  party  politics  upon  a  high 
plane  of  political  and  individual  integrity,  away 
from  the  low  stage  of  personal  detraction  and  corrup 
tion  at  the  ballot-box. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


HE  ENTERS  THE  SENATE. 

*  I  *  HE  entry  of  Mr.  Fairbanks  into  the  Senate  was 
•*•  propitious.  On  the  day  that  he  took  his  seat 
his  friend,  Mr.  McKinley,  took  the  oath  of  office  as 
Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Xation.  The  new  President 
and  the  new  Senator  were  not  political  friends  only, 
but  they  were  personal  friends  as  well.  They  knew 
each  other  intimately,  and  each  had  an  exalted  opin 
ion  of  the  personal  and  intellectual  worth  of  the  other. 
They  had  each  measured  the  strength  of  the  other, 
and  each  had  an  abiding  faith  that  the  other  was 
especially  fitted  in  all  ways  for  the  position  to  which 
he  had  been  chosen.  During  the  great  campaign  of 
1896  Mr.  Fairbanks  had  been  one  of  the  most  inti 
mate  and  most  trusted  of  the  advisers  of  Mr.  McKin 
ley,  and  the  new  President  had  learned  during  these 
months  to  have  great  confidence  in  the  judgment  of 
the  future  Senator.  They  were  both  moved  by  the 
same  lofty  impulse — to  serve  the  people  to  the  best 
of  their  ability.  They  both  were  conservative  by 
nature  and  by  training,  and  each  had  an  exalted  esti 
mate  of  the  duties  and  responsibilities  of  the  station 

-97- 


98  FAIEBANKS 

they  had  assumed.  They  both  were  serious  and  ear 
nest  students  of  public  affairs,  and  neither  would  let 
party  considerations  outweigh  their  deliberate  judg 
ment  as  to  what  was  best  for  the  people.  So  it  was 
that  the  new  President  came  at  once  to  rely  upon  the 
wisdom  and  judgment  of  the  new  Senator,  as  he  had 
relied  upon  the  campaign  adviser. 

Mr.  Fairbanks  took  with  him  into  the  Senate  an 
established  reputation  as  a  profound  lawyer,  a  wise 
and  successful  party  leader  and  a  forcible  speaker. 
The  intimate  relations  between  him  and  the  Pres 
ident  were  well  known,  and  that  the  President  re 
lied  greatly  upon  his  counsels,  so  he  took  a  prom 
inent  place  at  once  among  his  colleagues.  He  was 
too  modest,  too  self-contained,  too  much  amenable 
to  the  traditions  of  the  august  body  which  he  had 
entered  to  push  himself  unduly  forward  in  debate, 
but  from  the  very  first  he  was  taken  into  the  inner 
councils  of  his  party  associates  in  the  Senate. 

It  was  at  a  propitious  moment  for  himself  that 
Mr.  Fairbanks  entered  the  Senate,  but  it  was  a  for 
tuitous  moment  for  the  whole  country,  for  it  was  at  a 
crisis  in  the  affairs  of  the  Nation  when  such  calm, 
deliberate,  conservative,,  yet  really  bold,  tempera 
ments  were  needed  in  the  councils  of  the  Nation. 
For  some  time  the  war  and  barbarities  in  Cuba  had 
been  attracting  the  attention  of  the  civilized  world, 
and  the  relations  between  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  and  that  of  Spain  were  becoming  daily 


FAIBBANKS  99 

more  and  more  strained.  The  effects  of  the  war  in 
Cuba  were  felt  more  in  this  country  than  in  any 
other,  owing  to  the  proximity  of  the  island  to  our 
coast,  and  the  suffering  people  there  were  calling 
loudly  upon  us  for  aid  in  their  struggle  against  the 
tyranny  of  Spain.  The  people  of  the  United  States 
were  indignant,  and  anxious  that  some  steps  should 
be  taken  to  end  the  cruel  war.  This  had  been  rec 
ognized  by  the  convention  that  nominated  Mr.  Mc- 
Kinley  for  President,  and  the  deliberate  views  of 
the  Republican  party  were  embodied  in  the  platform 
adopted  by  that  convention.  There  were  many  in 
Congress  and  out  of  it  who  clamored  for  action,  even 
if  it  involved  this  country  in  war  with  Spain. 

Another  and  most  momentous  question  was  con 
fronting  the  Nation.  For  three  years  the  country 
had  suffered  an  unexampled  season  of  business  de 
pression.  Everywhere  factories  were  closed,  and 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  workmen  were  anxiously 
seeking  for  employment  they  could  not  obtain.  Dis 
tress,  financial  and  commercial,  covered  the  country 
like  a  pall,  and  the  new  administration  was  con 
fronted  with  the  duty  of  finding  some  solution  of  this 
problem;  some  way  to  open  the  factories,  of  finding 
work  for  the  labor  that  was  idle.  Under  the  pressing 
exigencies  of  the  occasion  President  McKinley  called 
Congress  to  meet  in  extraordinary  session,  and  it  was 
fortuitous  for  the  country  that  ITr.  Fairbanks  had 
taken  his  seat  among  the  conservative  Senators, 


100  FAIRBANKS 

Mr.  Fairbanks  had  not  been  a  Senator  three 
months  when  he  made  his  maiden  speech.  It  was 
upon  an  exciting  and  most  important  occasion,  one 
fraught  with  great  possibilities  to  the  country.  His 
relations  with  President  McKinley  were  such  that 
when  he  arose  to  speak  every  one  felt  that  what  he 
should  say  would  truthfully  and  faithfully  reflect 
the  views  of  the  President,  and  he  was  listened  to 
with  much  more  than  the  usual  attention  given  to  the 
maiden  effort  of  a  young  Senator. 

The  President  had  called  Congress  to  enact  a  tariff 
law,  but  at  the  very  beginning  the  Cuban  question 
presented  itself,  and  Senator  Morgan,  of  Alabama, 
introduced  a  resolution  recognizing  the  belligerency 
of  the  Cuban  insurgents.  It  was  a  question  of  great 
moment,  and  if  adopted  the  resolution  was  sure  to 
break  off  diplomatic  relations  with  Spain  and  possi 
bly  lead  to  a  war  with  that  country.  It  was  on  this 
question,  fraught  with  such  vital  consequences,  that 
Senator  Fairbanks  made  his  maiden  speech.  It  was 
a  speech  full  of  dignity  and  the  seriousness  befitting 
so  important  an  occasion.  It  was  also  of  great  force. 
It  gave  to  the  members  the  gauge  of  their  new  col 
league.  It  was  a  calm  and  dispassionate  presentation 
of  the  situation  and  the  consequences  involved,  and 
was  delivered  with  dignity  and  force.  It  was  the 
product  of  a  student  and  of  a  statesman.  It  is  now 
a  part  of  the  history  of  the  country,  and  no  apologies 
are  offered  for  presenting  it  here ; 


FAIRBANKS 


101 


"Mr.  President :  It  has  not  been  my  purpose  until 
now  to  invite  the  attention  of  the  Senate  in  this  de 
bate,  and  it  is  my  present  intention  to  add  but  a  few 
words.  I  shall  not  indulge  in  criticisms  upon  the 
Senate  or  its  members,  for  my  brief  presence  here  has 
but  increased  my  respect  for  both.  My  observation 
is  that  there  is  no  one  here  who  possesses  more  pa 
triotism  or  love  of  liberty  than  others;  that  in  that 
respect  there  is  absolute  equality  here.  I  further 
observe,  Mr.  President,  as  this  debate  has  progressed., 
that  there  is  no  difference  among  the  honorable  Sen 
ators  with  respect  to  their  desire  for  the  freedom  of 
Cuba.  All  wish  to  see  peace  reign  and  liberty  estab 
lished  in  the  desolated  island.  The  difference  arises, 
sir,  with  regard  to  the  means  which  shall  be  employed 
to  attain  the  hoped-for  end. 

"The  immediate  division  of  opinion  has  been  with 
reference  to  the  motion  of  the  distinguished  Senator 
from  Maine  to  refer  the  resolution  of  the  honorable 
Senator  from  Alabama  to  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Relations.  Those  who  opposed  the  reference  felt  that 
they  had  adequate  information  upon  which  to  act, 
while  those  who  favored  the  reference  desired  in  an 
orderly  and  usual  way  to  secure  information  in  the 
State  Department  bearing  upon  the  subject  under 
consideration,  and  they  also  desired  to  have  the  delib 
erate  judgment  of  the  able  Committee  on  Foreign 
Relations  with  respect  to  it.  Their  desire  in  this 


102  FAIRBANKS 

regard  was  intensified  by  the  partial  disclosures  made 
yesterday  by  the  distinguished  Senator  from  Ohio. 

"Mr.  President,  it  seems  to  me  that  those  who  fav 
ored  the  reference  for  the  reasons  indicated  are  not 
wanting  in  humanity  and  love  of  country,  and  are 
not  unreasonable  in  their  demands.  Few  questions 
can  arise  in  this  chamber  more  momentous  than  this, 
and  it  should  have  that  consideration  which  comports 
with  its  magnitude.  Some  Senators  may  be  satisfied 
with  the  fragmentary  information  of  affairs  in  Cuba 
which  they  have  from  private  sources,  from  the  pub 
lic  press,  and  from  the  State  Department,  but  others 
may  not  be. 

"It  would  seem  that  as  a  predicate  for  action  upon 
this  question,  so  important  in  its  immediate  results 
and  which  shall  become  a  notable  precedent,  there 
should  be  upon  the  table  of  every  Senator  all  the  offi 
cial  information  obtainable  and  a  well-considered  re 
port  from  the  appropriate  committee.  Each  Senator 
must  act  upon  the  solemnity  of  his  oath,  and  a  nice 
regard  for  the  obligations  he  has  taken  upon  his  en 
trance  to  this  chamber  demands  that  he  have  the  es 
sential  facts,  officially  ascertained,  before  he  records 
his  deliberate  potential  judgment. 

"I  observe  that  this  course  was  adopted  by  the 
Senate  at  the  last  session.  The  resolution  concern 
ing  Cuba  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Relations.  The  committee,  after  mature  delibera 
tion,  reported  it  back  to  the  Senate  with  substitute 


FAIRBANKS  103 

resolutions.  The  majority  report  was  presented  by 
the  honorable  Senator  from  Alabama,  who  now  op 
poses  the  reference  of  his  own  resolution  upon  the 
same  subject  in  the  same  manner  to  the  same  com 
mittee.  If  deliberation  and  orderly  procedure  were 
observed  then,  why  not  now  ?  What  exigency  has 
arisen  which  demands  the  present  departure  from 
the  practices  of  the  Senate  in  the  past  ? 

"Mr.  President,  I  shall  not  stop  to  discuss  the 
question  as  to  whether,  under  the  constitution,  the 
recognition  of  belligerency  is  an  executive  or  legisla 
tive  function,  or  whether  the  executive  and  legislative 
branches  of  the  Government  should  act  conjointly. 
But  it  seems  to  me  that  in  the  conduct  of  our  foreign 
affairs  the  practice  has  been  for  the  Committee  on 
Foreign  Relations  to  act  upon  these  international 
questions  to  some  degree  in  conjunction  with  the 
Executive  Department  of  the  Government.  If  such 
has  not  been  the  practice  heretofore,  now  is  the  time 
to  set  a  good  precedent. 

"A  new  administration  is  in  power,  not  yet  three 
months  old — an  administration  charged  with  great 
responsibility.  Shall  we  act  in  this  grave  matter  re 
gardless  of  its  views  or  policies  respecting  foreign 
affairs  ?  Shall  the  Congress  take  one  position  and 
the  Executive  another  upon  a  question  of  such  mo 
ment  and  obvious  delicacy  ?  If  so,  what  will  be  the 
effect,  not  only  upon  the  fortune  of  Cuba,  but  upon 
our  domestic  affairs,  sensitive  and  unsettled  as  they 
are? 


104  FAIRBANKS 

"Mr.  President,  if  I  correctly  apprehend  those  who 
favor  the  resolution  of  the  Senator  from  Alabama, 
one  of  the  chief  purposes  to  be  accomplished  by  the 
recognition  of  belligerency  is  to  legitimatize  the  war 
in  Cuba ;  it  is  to  change  barbarous  warfare  into  civil 
ized  warfare.  The  immediate  purpose  is  not  to  stop 
the  war,  but  to  alter  its  character. 

"Sir,  I  hold  to  the  opinion  that  all  war  is  barbar 
ous.  I  am  against  war,  civilized  or  uncivilized,  ex 
cept  it  be  necessary  to  redeem  people  from  oppres 
sion,  or  be  for  national  defense,  or  to  sustain  the  na 
tional  honor  in  the  protection  of  American  citizen 
ship.  '  I  preferred  a  reference  of  the  joint  resolution 
to  the  Foreign  Relations  Committee,  that  it  might 
determine  whether,  under  all  the  facts,  according  to 
the  official  information  in  possession  of  the  Govern 
ment,  it  could  not  report  a  resolution  which  will  ac 
complish  what  the  resolution  offered  by  the  Senator 
from  Alabama  fails  to  secure,  and  that  is,  peace  and 
the  independence  of  Cuba. 

"Upon  the  recognition  of  belligerent  rights,  Mr. 
President,  we  do  not  stop  the  war ;  we  merely  dignify 
it.  When  will  it  cease  ?  How  much  longer  will  the 
slaughter  continue?  How  much  longer  will  the 
sword  and  torch  devour?  E"o  one  can  tell;  no  one 
can  measure  the  loss. 

"I  would  prefer  a  policy  more  certain,  more  di 
rect.  Let  us  come  out  into  the  open  and  be  for  war 
or  against  it.  If  a  great  moral  responsibility  rests 


FAIRBANKS  105 

upon  us,  as  I  believe  it  does,  let  us  discharge  it 
squarely  and  fairly. 

"Sir,  I  would  forthwith  tender  the  good  offices  of 
this  Government  to  the  Spanish  Cabinet,  to  the  end 
that  war  cease.  And  further,  I  would  open  amicable 
negotiations  to  secure  the  independence  of  Cuba, 
which,  under  the  providence  of  the  Almighty,  is  its 
manifest  destiny.  If  these  peaceful  and  honorable 
methods  fail  and  the  war  should  continue,  I  would 
have  no  hesitancy  in  reaching  out  the  mighty  arm 
of  this  Government  and  saying,  'This  war  shall 
cease/  But,  sir,  such  an  extreme  measure  will  not 
be  necessary  to  accomplish  an  honorable  peace. 

"Some  of  the  distinguished  Senators  who  belong  to 
the  party  which  holds  my  loyal  allegiance  have  pro 
fessed  to  support  the  resolution  of  the  Senator  from 
Alabama  because,  as  they  hold,  it  is  in  consonance 
with  the  platform  adopted  at  St.  Louis.  I  heard  the 
distinguished  Senator  from  Nebraska,  who  presided 
over  the  deliberations  of  that  great  congress  of  Amer 
ican  citizens  with  such  conspicuous  ability,  read  the 
platform  this  morning  and  declare  his  approval  of 
it.  With  due  deference  to  the  honorable  Senator,  I 
must  utterly  and  entirely  repudiate  the  suggestion 
that  the  resolution  proposed  by  the  Senator  from 
Alabama  is  in  accord  with  the  Republican  platform, 
for,  in  my  judgment,  it  is  against  it.  The  platform 
on  the  Cuban  question  declared  that — 

"  'From  the  hour  of  achieving  their  own  independ- 


106  FAIRBANKS 

ence  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  regarded 
with  sympathy  the  struggles  of  other  American  peo 
ple  to  free  themselves  from  European  domination. 
We  watch  with  deep  and  abiding  interest  the  heroic 
battle  of  the  Cuban  patriots  against  cruelty  and  op 
pression,  and  our  best  hopes  go  out  for  the  full  success 
of  th'eir  determined  contest  for  liberty. 

"  'The  Government  of  Spain  having  lost  control 
of  Cuba,  and  being  unable  to  protect  the  property  or 
lives  of  resident  American  citizens,  or  to  comply  with 
its  treaty  obligations — 

"Note  carefully  what  follows— 

'we  believe  that  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  should  actively  use  its  influence  and  good 
offices  to  restore  peace  and  give  independence  to  the 
island.' 

"This  language  is  free  from  ambiguity.  Its  mean 
ing  is  not  involved  in  the  slightest  doubt.  Peace  and 
independence  are  to  be  obtained  through  the  active 
agency  of  the  United  States. 

"Let  me  read  the  resolution  offered  by  the  Sena 
tor  from  Alabama : 

"  'Resolved  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Represen 
tatives  of  the  United  States  of  America  in  Congress 
assembled,  That  a  condition  of  public  war  exists  be 
tween  the  government  of  Spain  and  the  government 
proclaimed  and  for  some  time  maintained  by  the 
force  of  arms  by  the  people  of  Cuba,  and  that  the 
United  States  of  America  shall  maintain  a  strict 
neutrality  between  the  contending  powers,  according 
to  each  all  the  rights  of  belligerents  in  the  ports  and 
territory  of  the  United  States.' 


FAIRBANKS  107 

"The  policy  to  which  this  resolution  commits  the 
Government  is  one  of— 

'strict  neutrality  between  the  contending  powers,  ac 
cording  to  each  all  rights  of  belligerents  in  the  ports 
and  territory  of  the  United  States.' 

"I  yield  to  no  Senator,  I  yield  to  no  Republican 
in  my  attachment  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Republican 
party.  I  believe  that  when  the  platform  was  adopted 
at  St.  Louis  it  was  a  covenant  to  be  executed  honestly, 
fearlessly,  faithfully ;  and  I  am  here,  Mr.  President, 
to  execute  it  to  the  best  of  my  humble  ability. 

"The  scope  and  purpose  of  the  resolution  and  the 
Republican  platform  are  totally  dissimilar.  The  for 
mer  recognizes  the  rights  of  belligerency  and  main 
tains  an  attitude  of  strict  neutrality — nothing  more 
— while  the  platform  requires  the  Government  to  ten 
der  its  good  offices  to  restore  peace  and  give  independ 
ence  to  the  island.  The  distinction  between  tendering 
the  good  offices  of  the  Government  and  acknowledg 
ing  belligerency,  according  to  international  law,  is 
broad  and  marked. 

"I  believe  the  golden  moment  of  which  the  hon 
orable  Senator  from  Massachusetts  has  spoken  has 
arrived.  The  condition  in  Cuba,  except  the  horrors 
of  the  pestilential  camps,  which  the  President's  mes 
sage  has  wisely  attempted  to  mitigate,  seems  to  be 
worse  than  ever;  the  hold  of  Spain  on  Cuba  is  less 
certain ;  her  revenues  have  decreased ;  the  burdens  of 
war  have  increased.  The  rainy  season  is  at  hand, 


108  FAIRBANKS 

when  the  march  must  stop.  A  large  army  is  to  be 
maintained  at  heavy  cost  until  the  seasons  permit  a 
new  campaign.  The  issue  is  in  the  balance.  Sir, 
it  would  seem  that  the  highest  considerations  which 
can  move  men  or  nations  would  suggest  the  tender 
and  acceptance  of  the  good  offices  of  this  Government. 

"Mr.  President,  before  closing  I  wish  to  say  that  I 
am  deeply  sensible  of  the  distress  in  Cuba.  I  have  no 
doubt  of  the  substantial  accuracy  of  the  reports  of 
the  press  of  the  country  with  respect  to  it.  I  am  also 
conscious  of  the  distress  and  sufferings  in  our  own 
country.  Every  hour  the  pathetic  appeals  of  our  own 
countrymen  come  to  us.  More  than  2,000,000  good 
and  loyal  American  workmen  are  walking  the  streets 
and  highways  of  our  country  asking  for  work ;  seek 
ing  not  charity,  but  a  chance  to  labor.  Their  eyes  are 
on  this  chamber.  Every  hour  is  precious  to  them. 
They  are  not  threatened  by  the  barbarity  of  Weyler, 
but  by  the  cruelty  of  want. 

"For  every  soldier  that  falls  on  the  fields  of  Cuba 
a  hundred  fall  in  the  ranks  of  labor.  The  manufac 
turers  have  been  discouraged  and  the  merchants  have 
been  idle  in  the  marts  of  trade.  In  the  name  of 
these,  sir,  I  protest  against  delay  in  the  consideration 
of  the  matters  for  which  we  were  convoked  in  this 
extraordinary  session.  'Pass  the  tariff !  Pass  the  tar 
iff  I9  comes  from  our  expectant  countrymen  night  and 
day.  A  tariff  law  and  a  currency  commission  are  the 
imperative  demands  of  the  hour.  Whatever  will  in- 


FAIRBANKS  109 

terfere  with  early  securing  them,  no  matter  how  im 
portant  it  is,  I  shall  steadfastly  oppose." 

Senator  Fairbanks  closed  his  speech  by  offering  an 
amendment  to  the  pending  resolution.  This  amend 
ment  was  understood  to  express  the  views  of  Presi 
dent  McKinley.  It  was  to  the  purport  that  the  Gov 
ernment  tender  the  good  offices  of  the  United  States 
to  Spain  in  an  endeavor  to  secure  independence  for 
Cuba.  The  amendment  failed  and  the  original  reso 
lution  of  Senator  Morgan  was  adopted,  but  it  failed 
to  pass  the  House,  and  the  threatening  crisis  was 
escaped  for  a  time. 

This  speech  fixed  the  status  of  Mr.  Fairbanks  in 
the  Senate,  and  from  that  time  he  has  taken  part  in 
the  discussion  of  every  important  question  that  has 
been  before  the  Congress.  He  was  made  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  on  Immigration,  in  view  of  the 
vast  numbers  of  illiterate,  pauper  and  criminal 
classes  who  were  flocking  to  our  shores,  a  very  impor 
tant  committee.  He  addressed  himself  to  the  duties 
of  the  place  with  the  same  care  and  industry  he  had 
ever  displayed.  He  made  a  profound  study  of  the 
whole  question  of  immigration  and  its  effect  upon 
this  country.  When  he  had  thoroughly  prepared  him 
self  for  an  exhaustive  discussion  of  the  subject  he  re 
ported  a  bill  restricting  the  admission  of  immigrants 
into  this  country,  and  enforced  it  with  a  speech  of 
some  length,  abounding  in  statements  of  facts  and 
cogent  arguments  as  to  why  the  bill  should  become  a 


110  FAIKBANKS 

law.  -In  the  progress  of  the  speech  he  presented  a 
number  of  statistical  tables  of  great  value  to  the  stu 
dent  of  political  and  social  economy.  Among  other 
things  he  said : 

"No  more  important  question  can  engage  our  at 
tention,  and  none  should  receive  more  earnest  and 
thoughtful  consideration,  than  one  which  seeks  to 
guard  and  preserve  the  high  standard  of  our  popula 
tion  and  citizenship.  No  policy,  however  venerable, 
no  mere  sentimental  considerations  should  dissuade 
us  from  dealing  with  an  evil  which  menaces  our  civil 
ization,  and  in  a  manner  compatible  with  the  best  in 
terests  of  our  country  and  all  its  people." 
•x-  *  * 

"We  are  not  unmindful  of  the  immeasurable  con 
tributions  which  our  foreign-born  population  has 
made  to  the  upbuilding  of  the  Republic.  Its  work 
and  influence  has  been  felt  throughout  the  country, 
and  much  of  all  that  is  great  and  splendid  about  us 
is  the  fruit  of  its  genius  and  industry.  But  those 
who  have  aided  most  were  those  who  quickly  blended 
with  the  great  mass  of  our  native-born  population 
and  most  readily  renounced  allegiance  to  their  own 
countries  and  assumed  the  duties  of  loyal  citizens, 
taking  an  interest  and  pride  in  sustaining  and 
strengthening  the  institutions  of  the  country  of  their 
adoption.  Sir,  I  am  pleased  to  say  that  the^ native 
and  foreign-born  of  Indiana  have  wrought  together 
in  raising  that  splendid  State  to  her  present  exalted 


FAIEBANKS  111 

position.  They  have  been  zealous  co-workers,  sharing 
alike  in  all  the  labors,  anxieties,  and  rewards  incident 
to  carving  out  of  the  wilderness  that  majestic  com 
monwealth.  Search  her  muster-rolls,  and  there  you 
will  find  thousands  born  beneath  distant  skies  who 
dared  all  in  defense  of  the  honor  and  the  integrity 
of  their  chosen  land.  They  shared  in  the  arduous 
deeds  of  heroes  on  many  fields,  and  their  patriotic  de 
votion  is  a  part  of  the  imperishable  glory  of  the 

State." 

*          -x-          # 

"The  absorptive  power  of  our  nation  has  been 
great,  and  in  the  main  the  aliens  and  the  natives  have 
easily  fused  into  a  homogeneous  people.  The  rapid 
admixture  of  foreign  bloods  here  without  the  impair 
ment  of  our  national  character  has  challenged  the 
wonder  and  admiration  of  the  civilized  world." 
x-  #  # 

"Until  recent  years  immigration  was  invited  and 
stimulated  by  liberal  homestead  laws,  and  by  coloni 
zation  agencies  which  offered  alluring  inducements. 
All  who  sought  our  shores  were  accepted  without 
question  or  discrimination.  The  educated,  moral 
and  patriotic  were  welcome.  '*  The  culprit,  fleeing 
from  outraged  justice,  found  a  refuge  here.  The 
physically,  mentally  or  morally  disordered  were  per 
mitted  to  become  residents  and  citizens  and  share 
with  us,  as  though  to  'the  manner  born/  the  privi 
leges  bequeathed  to  us  by  our  fathers.  Our  broad, 

(8) 


112  KAIEBANKS 

rich,  unoccupied  domain  and  expanding  industries 
invited  numbers,  and  no  heed  was  taken  of  their  qual 
ity;  and  it  is  remarkable,  and  indeed  the  subject  of 
congratulation,  that  we  suffered  so  little  from  the 
undesirable  and  really  objectionable  while  our  gates 
stood  unprotected." 

%  -K-  * 

"The  very  large  per  cent,  of  the  immigration,  until 
quite  recently,  came  from  the  United  Kingdom,  Ger 
many,  Sweden,  Norway  and  Denmark.  It  was  in 
the  main  intelligent,  industrious,  frugal,  law-re 
specting  and  liberty-loving.  It  readily  assimilated 
with  us  and  merged  into  the  American  with  marvel 
ous  facility.  It  contributed  to  our  statesmanship,  to 
our  literature,  to  our  commerce,  to  our  agriculture, 
and  to  all  other  avenues  of  industry." 
•jf  *  # 

"If  it  be  said  that  in  further  restricting  immi 
gration  we  are  departing  from  the  traditional  policy 
of  our  Government,  we  answer  that  conditions  have 
changed,  and  with  new  conditions  the  policy  of  the 
Government  must  change  to  meet  them.  No  policy 
should  stand  against  the  best  interests  of  our  coun 
trymen,  native  and  foreign-born  alike." 
#  #  # 

"The  more  recent  immigration  is  less  devoted  to 

home  building  than  the  former It  may 

be  stated  as  axiomatic  that  home-builders  are  good 
citizens,  for  the  government  that  rests  upon  the  home 


FAIRBANKS  113 

will  better  resist  the  shock  of  foreign  invasion  or  do 
mestic  tumult.  The  American  home  is  indeed  the 
cradle  of  liberty — it  is  the  unit  of  the  Republic's 
strength.  There  are  taught  the  lessons  that  endure. 
That  immigration  that  does  not  seek  to  build  homes 
among  us  is  the  most  objectionable,  and  its  exclusion 
will  be  no  loss." 

•X-  -X-  -X- 

"A  patriotic  regard  for  those  to  whose  interests 
we  owe  first  allegiance  requires  us  to  see  that  the 
persons  who  present  themselves  to  this  new  compe 
tition  shall  not  be  the  most  ignorant  pauper  laborers 

from  abroad A  low  wage  scale  is  not 

consistent  with  the  most  wholesome  development  of 
the  country  and  of  its  people." 

x          x          * 

"What  should  be  more  in  harmony  with  our  insti 
tutions  than  an  educational  test,  for  the  enduring 
basis  upon  which  the  Republic  rests  is  intelligence  ? 
The  schoolroom  is  more  potential  in  our  preservation 
than  steel-armored  fleets;  more  essential  to  our  de 
fense  than  the  strongest  fortress.  A  general  knowl 
edge  among  the  people  of  the  rudimentary  branches 
of  an  education  is  regarded  as  essential  to  the  safety 
of  our  free  institutions  and  necessary  for  the  enjoy 
ment  of  American  citizenship.  It  is  in  recognition 
of  these  facts  that  private  beneficences  have  endowed 
schools  and  that  many  States  have  enacted  compul 
sory  education  laws,  and  that  the  people  have  volun- 


114  FAIRBANKS 

tavilv  laid  upon  themselves  the  burden  of  instructing 
the  youth  of  the  land.  In  many  of  the  States  the 
truant  officer  has  become  a  familiar  arm  of  the  law. 
May  we  not  demand  of  those  without  seeking  our 
shores  that  rudimentary  education  which  we  require 
from  our  own  countrymen  within  ?" 
•&  •&  * 

"Mr.  President,  the  present  bill  has  heretofore  re 
ceived  the  approval  of  the  Senate.  It  is  born  neither 
of  a  want  of  hospitality  nor  of  a  nativistic  spirit,  but 
of  a  profound  conviction  that  the  illiterate  elements 
which  do  not  make  for  national  betterment  should  be 
excluded,  and  that  we  should  admit  only  those  able 
to  read  and  write  our  Constitution  and  who  are  enam 
ored  of  our  country  and  its  institutions.  Sir,  let 
us  exalt  American  citizenship,  the  richest  legacy 
which  in  the  divine  economy  may  be  bequeathed  to 
the  children  of  men,  and  preserve  undiminished  the 
moral  and  intellectual  grandeur  of  the  Republic.'7 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


THE   WAR   WITH   SPAIN. 

T  7"  FRY  early  in  the  service  of  Senator  Fairbanks 
one  of  the  great  questions — our  financial  sys 
tem — was  under  discussion.  The  election  of  Mr. 
McKinley  made  it  certain  that  for  four  years,  at  least, 
there  would  be  no  free  coinage  of  silver,  but  the  free 
silver  advocates  were  in  earnest  and  the  silver  ques 
tion  had  many  phases.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
Mr.  Fairbanks  had  been  chosen  by  Mr.  McKinley  for 
temporary  chairman  of  the  St.  Louis  convention,  and 
to  forecast  in  his  speech  what  would  be  the  financial 
policy  of  his  administration  should  he  be  nominated 
and  elected  President.  It  is  not  surprising,  then, 
notwithstanding  Mr.  Fairbanks  had  been  a  member 
of  the  Senate  less  than  one  year,  when  the  subject  of 
silver  was  under  discussion,  that  he  should  deliver  a 
set  speech.  Senator  Teller,  of  Colorado,  one  of  the 
most  earnest  and  able  advocates  of  free  silver,  intro 
duced  into  the  Senate  a  resolution  declaring,  in  sub 
stance,  that  certain  bonds  issued  by  the  United  States 
were  payable,  principal  and  interest,  at  the  option  of 
the  Government,  in  silver  coin. 

-115- 


110  FAIRBANKS 

It  was  a  very  adroit  and  insidious  attack  on  the 
financial  policy  of  President  McKinley,  and  was  cal 
culated  to  win  support  from  the  unwary,  and  cause 
trouble  for  the  Republican  party.  The  speech 
of  Senator  Fairbanks  was  characterized  by  close, 
logical  reasoning,  and  he  supported  his  argument 
with  copious  facts  and  figures  taken  from  the  past 
history  of  the  country.  In  view  of  the  fact  that 
there  are  still  a  large  number  of  people  who  continue 
to  advocate  the  doctrine  of  free  coinage,  the  speech 
made  by  Mr.  Fairbanks  in  January,  1898,  is  well 
worth  considering  at  this  day.  Among  other  things 
he  said: 

"I  am  reluctant  to  add  to  what  has  already  so 
admirably  and  forcibly  been  urged  against  the  adop 
tion  of  the  resolution  of  the  Senator  from  Colorado. 
But  I  am  so  impressed  with  its  subtle  attack  upon  the 
public  credit  and  by  its  mischievous  effect  upon  the 
country  that  I  can  not  consent  to  rest  my  opposition 
solely  upon  my  negative  vote.7' 

*         *         * 

"It  is  wholly  reactionary  in  its  purpose.  It  de 
clares  that  the  principal  and  interest  of  certain  bonds 
shall  be  paid  at  the  option  of  the  Government  in 
silver  dollars  of  the  coinage  of  the  United  States 
containing  412-|  grains  each  of  standard  silver,  re 
gardless  of  the  great  decline  that  has  occurred 
in  the  commercial  value  of  silver  throughout  the 
world.  '  It  is  not  claimed  that  its  terms  either  enlarge 


FAIRBANKS  117 

or  restrict  the  obligations  devolved  upon  the  Govern 
ment  by  existing  law.  It  does  not  have  the  force  of 
law;  it  is  at  most  a  brutmn  fulmen." 

•vf  -X-  -X- 

"It  is  evident  that  the  central  purpose  of  the  reso 
lution  is  to  obtain  the  sentiment  of  the  Senate  upon 
the  proposition  for  the  free  and  unlimited  coinage  of 
silver  at  the  ratio  of  sixteen  to  one.  Why  was  not 
this  purpose,  Mr.  President,  frankly  and  clearly  ex 
pressed  in.  the  face  of  the  resolution,  in  order  that 
no  doubt  whatever  might  arise  as  to  its  scope  and 
meaning?  So  important  a  question  as  the  currency 
and  the  coinage  of  gold  and  silver  can  not  be  settled 
by  indirection,  nor  will  we  be  entrapped  into  any 
inconsiderate  and  doubtful  expression  with  respect 
thereto." 

•X-  -X-  -X- 

"I  am  aware,  Mr.  President,  of  the  tremendous 
power  of  environment  upon  our  lives  and  upon  our 
judgments.  It  seems  to  me  that  in  the  devotion  of 
the  Senator  from  Colorado  to  the  cause  of  free  silver 
he  is  following  but  an  ignis  f  atuus,  and  that  he  would 
lead  his  country  and  his  followers  in  the  pursuit  of 
it  into  the  morass  of  commercial  paralysis,  degrada 
tion  and  dishonor." 

•x-          *          -x- 

"What  is  its  purpose?  What  does  it  seek  to  ac 
complish?  Sir,  it  seems  to  me  to  lay  the  ground 
work  of  national  discredit  and  national  dishonor. 


118  FAIRBANKS 

Any  impairment  of  the  public  credit  sensibly  and 
injuriously  affects  individual  credit  and  private  enter 
prise.  Any  possible  derangement  of  our  commercial 
interests  must  tend  to  create  dissatisfaction,  discour 
agement,  discontent,  and  out  of  such  conditions  it  is 
hoped,  I  believe,  that  the  free  coinage  of  silver  will 

emerge." 

•x-         *         -jc 

"The  present  resolution  is  unwarranted  by  exist 
ing  circumstances.  Whatever  tends  to  arrest  the 
rapid  restoration  of  prosperity,  which  tends  to  dis 
turb  confidence,  which  is  the  foundation-rock  upon 
which  all  true  and  enduring  prosperity  is  built,  is 

unwise,  untimely." 

*  *         * 

"The  ranks  of  free  silver  have  been  recruited  out 
of  adversity  and  disaster.  I  give  the  author  of  the 
pending  resolution  credit  for  the  perspicacity  to  see 
that  in  the  complete  restoration  of  prosperity,  now 
imminent  and  manifest  to  all,  the  free  and  unre 
stricted  coinage  of  silver  is  an  utter  impossibility,  and 
as  a  real  issue  it  would  soon  become  as  dead  as  the 

Caesars." 

#  •*         # 

"The  enforced  payment  of  the  bond  creditors  of 
the  Government  in  cheap  silver  dollars  would,  in 
my  judgment,  be  in  violation  of  the  spirit  and  pur 
pose  of  the  contract,  if  not  in  contravention  of  its 
letter," 


FAIRBANKS  119 

"I  well  uecollect  the  invitation  that  was  presented 
soon  after  the  war  to  induce  the  people  by  various 
devices  to  repudiate  a  portion  of  the  great  bond  debt. 
But  it  is  a  part  of  our  proudest  history  that  the  voice 
of  the  repudiator  was  unheeded  and  that  the  great 
mass  of  the  people  were  as  sensitive  of  preserving  the 
national  honor  by  meeting  the  national  obligations 
as  they  were  to  defend  it  upon  the  battlefields  of  the 
Kepublic." 

•3f  *  * 

"I  shall  not  stop  to  critically  examine  the  letter 
of  the  bonds  of  the  Government,  supplemented  by 
the  provisions  of  the  resolution  before  us.  I  shall 
write  into  them  the  good  faith  and  moral  obligation 
of  the  country  to  meet  and  discharge  them  fairly  and 
squarely  and  without  loss  to  the  creditor.  This  obli 
gation,  I  take  it,  is  of  no  less  binding  force  upon  a 
country  sensitive  of  its  honor  than  that  which  may 
be  termed  strictly  the  legal  obligation,  and  I  shall 
consent  to  no  interpretation  which  shall  prevent  the 
Government  from  paying  its  debts  in  the  best  stand 
ard  of  money  and  in  full  measure.  This  policy  I 
would  apply  in  its  best  and  most  comprehensive  sense 
to  bonds,  pensions,  and  every  other  class  and  form  of 
Government  indebtedness.  I  hold,  sir,  that  above 
all  gold  and  all  silver  and  of  all  other  forms  of  cur 
rency  stand  the  honor  and  the  credit  of  the  Govern 
ment." 


120  FAIRBANKS 

"The  present  is  no  time  for  quibbling,  for  uncer 
tainty,  for  doubt,  There  must  be  no  equivocation 
with  respect  to  the  character  of  our  money  standard, 
and  no  hesitancy  nor  divided  purpose  in  its  inflexible 
maintenance.  It  is  our  duty  to  place  about  it  such 
safeguards  as  wisdom  and  prudence  may  suggest  and 
to  preserve  it  unimpaired.  The  judgment  and  the 
conscience  of  the  American  people  found  expression 
in  the  platform  adopted  by  the  St.  Louis  convention, 
in  1896,  and  which  was  triumphantly  ratified  at  the 
ballot  box.  The  declaration  made  was  unalterable 
opposition  to  every  measure  calculated  to  debase  our 
currency  or  to  impair  the  credit  of  the  country.  Op 
position  was  pledged  to  the  free  coinage  of  silver 
except  by  international  agreement  with  the  leading 
commercial  nations  of  the  world,  to  promote  which 
pledge  was  given;  and  until  such  agreement  could 
be  obtained  the  existing  gold  standard  must  be  pre'- 
served.  All  our  silver  and  paper  currency  must  be 
maintained  at  parity  with  gold,  and  all  measures  were 
favored  which  were  designed  to  maintain  inviolably 
the  obligations  of  the  United  States  and  all  our 
money,  whether  coin  or  paper,  at  the  present  stand 
ard,  the  standard  of  the  most  enlightened  nations  of 
the  earth.  Sir,  this  constitutes  our  monetary  creed 
— broad,  sound,  patriotic — the  true  foundation  of  all 
real,  individual  prosperity  and  enduring  national 
greatness." 

A  momentous  crisis  was  approaching  and  the  coun- 


FAIRBANKS  121 

try  was  about  to  be  suddenly  plunged  into  a  war  the 
results  of  which  were  to  startle  the  world  and  change 
our  traditional  policy.  The  condition  of  affairs  in 
Cuba  had  been  going  from  bad  to  worse.  The  bru 
talities  practiced  on  the  people  of  the  island  by  those 
in  authority  had  long  shocked  the  humanity  of  the 
world,  but  Spain  was  deaf  to  all  protests,  to  all  solici 
tations.  President  McKinley  watched  the  develop 
ment  of  affairs  with  keen  interest.  At  the  very  be 
ginning  of  his  administration  there  had  been  an  effort 
made  to  force  the  Government  to  take  a  step  that 
would  have  led  to  immediate  war,  but  it  had  been 
checked. 

The  excitement  in  this  country  increased,  and 
members  of  all  parties  urged  the  President  to  take 
some  decisive  stand  to  end  the  barbarities  practiced 
in  Cuba,  but  he  steadfastly  pursued  his  policy  of 
trying  to  maintain  peace  with  Spain  and  at  the  same 
time  induce  that  government  to  better  the  condition 
of  affairs  on  the  island.  He  recognized  that  this 
country  was  not  ready  for  war,  and  that  war  was  to 
be  avoided  if  at  all  possible  compatible  with  the  honor 
of  the  Nation.  At  last  an  electric  spark  was  touched 
that  aroused  the  Nation  as  nothing  had  done  in  all 
its  history. 

The  President  from  the  first  had  been  profoundly 
impressed  with  the  seriousness  of  the  situation,  and 
that  war  might  come,  but  he  was  not  to  be  hastened 
into  taking  any  step  that  would  look  like  desiring 


122  FAIRBANKS 

war.  His  first  official  act  in  the  affairs  of  Cuba  was 
to  ask  an  appropriation  to  enable  him  to  provide  food, 
medicines  and  transportation  out  of  the  island  for 
the  Americans  stranded  there.  The  filibuster  ele 
ment  kept  up  a  constant  and  fierce  fire  upon  him,  but 
he  showed  no  sign  of  weakening  in  his  conservative 
attitude.  In  his  first  annual  message  to  Congress 
he  calmly  discussed  the  situation;  spoke  plainly  of 
the  horrors  of  the  war  in  the  island,  and  very  strongly 
indicated  that  the  time  might  come  when  the  United 
States  would  feel  bound  to  interfere  to  end  the  hor 
rors.  He  stated  that  his  efforts  to  bring  about  an 
honorable  peace  would  be  continued,  and  then  closed 
with  these  solemn  and  impressive  words: 

"The  near  future  will  demonstrate  whether  the 
indispensable  condition  of  a  righteous  peace,  just 
alike  to  the  Cubans  and  to  Spain,  as  well  as  equitable 
to  all  our  interests  so  intimately  involved  in  the  wel 
fare  of  Cuba,  is  likely  to  be  obtained.  If  not,  the 
exigency  of  further  and  other  action  by  the  United 
States  will  remain  to  be  taken.  When  that  time 
comes,  that  action  will  be  determined  in  the  line  of 
indisputable  right  and  duty.  It  will  be  faced  with 
out  misgiving  or  hesitancy,  in  the  light  of  the  obliga 
tions  the  Government  owes  to  itself,  to  the  people  who 
have  confided  to  it  the  protection  of  their  interests 
and  honor,  and  to  humanity. 

"Sure  of  the  right,  keeping  free  from  all  offense 
ourselves,  actuated  only  by  upright  and  patriotic  con- 


FAIKBANKS  123 

siderations,  moved  neither  by  passions  nor  selfishness, 
the  Government  will  continue  its  watchful  care  over 
the  rights  and  property  of  American  citizens  and  will 
abate  none  of  its  efforts  to  bring  about  by  peaceful 
agencies  a  peace  which  shall  be  honorable  and  endur 
ing.  If  it  shall  hereafter  appear  to  be  a  duty  im 
posed  by  our  obligations  to  ourselves,  to  civilization 
and  humanity,  to  intervene  with  force,  it  shall  be 
without  fault  on  our  part  and  only  because  the  neces 
sity  for  such  action,  will  be  so  clear  as  to  command 
the  support  and  approval  of  the  civilized  world." 

Following  the  full  and  comprehensive  recital  of 
the  condition  of  affairs,  and  the  many  provocations 
given  to  the  United  States,  this  language  might  well 
have  been  looked  upon  as  being  an  ultimatum,  an 
nouncing  that  the  conduct  of  the  war  must  change 
or  the  United  States  would  interfere.  It  was  not 
regarded  by  Spain.  In  February,  1898,  the  indigna 
tion  of  the  American  people  received  a  new  impetus. 
A  proposition  had  been  made  to  show  the  friendly 
feeling  between  this  country  and  Spain  by  an  inter 
change  of  visits  by  a  warship  of  each  nation,  the 
Spanish  vessel  to  visit  New  York  and  the  American 
Havana.  While  this  peaceful  maneuver  was  in 
course  of  preparation  a  letter  was  published,  purport 
ing  to  have  been  written  by  the  Spanish  Minister  at 
Washington,  Dupuy  de  Lome,  to  a  Spanish  official 
at  Havana.  This  letter  teemed  with  abusive  epithets 
against  the  President,  and  suggestions  to  the  Spanish 
official  to  continue  a  certain  course  of  deception. 


124  FAIRBANKS 

The  publication  of  this  letter  produced  a  storm  of 
excitement  in  this  country,  and  the  Spanish  Minister 
promptly  cabled  his  resignation  to  his  government 
and  left  the  country.  This  was  followed  eight  days 
later  by  the  blowing  up  of  the  Maine  in  Havana  har 
bor.  An  instant  demand  for  war  followed,  and  Con 
gress  promptly  gave  the  President  $50,000,000  for 
defensive  purposes  and  for  the  purchase  of  ships  to 
strengthen  our  navy. 

On  the  llth  of  April,  1898,  President  McKinley 
sent  a  long  and  comprehensive  message  to  Congress, 
reviewing  the  situation,  and  closing  with  the  follow 
ing  paragraph : 

"The  issue  is  now  with  Congress.  It  is  a  solemn 
responsibility.  I  have  exhausted  every  effort  to  re 
lieve  the  intolerable  condition  of  affairs  which  is  at 
our  doors.  Prepared  to  execute  every  obligation 
imposed  upon  me  by  the  Constitution  and  the  law, 
I  await  your  action." 

A  resolution  was  introduced  in  Congress  declaring 
the  people  of  Cuba  free,  and  demanding  that  Spain 
relinquish  authority  in  that  island.  The  President 
was  empowered  and  directed  to  use  the  land  and 
naval  forces  of  this  country  to  carry  the  resolution 
into  effect.  A  number  of  able  speeches  were  made 
while  the  resolution  was  pending,  that  of  Senator 
Fairbanks  being  especially  effective.  In  the  course 
of  his  speech  he  said : 

"I  have  not  been  for  either  peace  at  any  price  or 


FAIRBANKS  125 

war  at  any  cost.  I  have  been  steadfastly  for  peace 
if  it  could  be  maintained  honorably,  and  for  war  if 
the  national  dignity  and  honor  required  it.  The 
problem  which  is  presented  to  us  is  one  of  the  great 
est  gravity,  one  which  invokes  our  most  deliberate, 
patriotic  judgment." 

*         -x-          * 

"In  view  of  our  relations  to  the  island  and  of  our 
policy  of  opposition  to  foreign  interference  with 
Spanish  control,  we  are  morally  bound  to  put  an  end 
to  the  wrongs,  the  outrages,  the  evils  which  flow  from 
Spanish  misrule.  We  have  repeatedly  tendered  to 
the  Spanish  Cabinet  our  friendly  offices  to  end  the 
wars  in  Cuba  and  to  restore  peace.  Our  offers  have 
been  uniformly  rejected." 

-x-          -x-          -x- 

"This  Government  has  at  all  times  been  scrupu 
lously  observant  of  her  duties  toward  Spain,  yet 
Spain  has  either  been  unwilling  or  unable  to  prop 
erly  protect  the  rights  of  our  citizens  or  to  make  ade 
quate  reparation  for  the  wrongs  committed  against 
them.  They  have  been  imprisoned  without  cause 
and  tardily  released  without  just  reparation  for  the 
indignities  and  wrongs  committed.  The  story  is  an 
old  one;  is  already  familiar  as  a  thrice-told  tale. 
History  is  but  repeating  itself." 
•x-  -x-  * 

"For  many  months  the  Chief  Executive,  upon 
whom  rests,  under  the  Constitution,  the  conduct  of 


126  FAIRBANKS 

our  foreign  affairs,  has  been  attempting  to  solve  the 
Cuban  problem  peacefully  and  honorably.  He  has 
proceeded  to  its  consideration  with  a  broad  and  sym 
pathetic  statesmanship,  and  with  a  determination  to 
enforce  all  the  just  demands  we  could  make  upon  the 
Spanish  authority,  and  with  a  purpose  of  defending, 
in  the  fullest  degree,  the  national  honor.  The  task 
imposed  has  been  a  grave  and  difficult  one,  and  he  has 
discharged  it  in  a  manner  to  challenge  the  admira 
tion  of  his  contemporaries  and,  in  my  opinion,  to 
win  the  approval  of  dispassionate  history.  His  pol 
icy  was  an  open  one,  known  to  the  world;  it  was 
peace  with  honor  above  and  beyond  all  else,  and  war 
with  honor  only  as  the  last  dread  emergency.  If 
war  was  to  come,  it  must  come  at  such  a  time  as  we 
would  be  able  to  meet  it  and  in  such  manner  as  the 
whole  world  would  approve.  He  truly  compre 
hended  the  resources  and  the  patriotism  of  our  peo 
ple,  and  well  knew  that  but  one  result  would  follow 
an  appeal  to  the  sword.  He  also  knew  that  nothing 
so  became  the  mighty  power  of  a  great  people  as  its 
sparing  use. 

"But  a  few  weeks  ago  the  Maine,  one  of  our  war 
vessels,  was  sent  to  the  harbor  of  Havana  upon  a 
mission  of  peace,  for  the  protection  of  American  in 
terests,  and  not  for  war.  Her  going  was  but  the 
resumption  of  old-time  friendly  relations.  While 
the  noble  ship  rested  at  peace  in  the  harbor  of  Ha 
vana,  while  she  was  enjoying  Spanish  hospitality,  she 


FAIRBANKS  127 

was  destroyed,  and  most  of  her  brave  crew  perished 
with  her.  When  the  blow  came  she  was  Spain's 
guest,  which  'was  strong  against  the  deed.7  The  ex 
plosion  aroused  our  countrymen  and  shook  the  earth. 
It  was  the  master  tragedy  of  the  age." 

#  *         * 

"The  evidence  is  ample  to  convict  Spain.  ~No  un 
prejudiced  jury  in  all  Christendom  would  fail  to  ren 
der  a  verdict  of  guilty  if  Spain  were  an  individual 
resting  under  indictment  in  a  court  of  criminal  juris 
diction.  Her  conduct  both  before  and  after  the  fact 
leaves  no  possible  shadow  of  doubt.  Whether  the 
electric  current  was  sent  upon  its  mission  of  death 
by  Spanish  decree  or  by  a  Spanish  functionary  in 
Havana  we  will  not  stop  to  inquire.  It  is  not  for  us 
to  do  so.  The  burden  rests  upon  Spain.  It  was  by 
the  direct  order  of  her  military  authorities  that  the 
Maine  was  anchored  above  a  powerful,  deadly  sub 
marine  mine.  Was  this  accidental?  How  chivalric ! 
What  a  token  of  friendship  and  esteem !  What  a 
graceful  courtesy !  But  it  is  said  by  Spain  that  we 
have  not  shown  that  she  released  the  fatal  spark. 
Be  it  so.  It  is  not  necessary.  •>  The  primary  cause 
was  her  act ;  we  will  not  look  beyond  it.  The  orig 
inal  offense  was  hers.  ^Tor  are  we  obliged  to  stop  to 
inquire  whether  the  Spanish  officers  were  negligent 
or  exceeded  their  authority.  If  such  a  duty  rests 
upon  any  one,  it  does  not  rest  upon  us." 

#  #         # 

(9) 


128  FAIEBANKS 

"Sir,  the  ghosts  of  the  Maine  will  not  down ;  they 
beckon  us  on.  Would  that  they  could  tell  the  secrets 
of  their  'prison  house.7  Then  we  would  know  how, 
sleeping,  the  Spanish  'serpent  stung'  them.  For  this 
grave  act  Spain  must  make  due  amends." 

*  -5f  * 

"Our  own  tranquility,  our  own  sense  of  security, 
our  regard  for  our  present  and  future  comfort  and 
for  the  lives  of  her  helpless  and  hapless  subjects, 
demand  that  we  should  interpose  the  mighty  power 
of  this  Government  to  stop  the  carnival  of  crime  and 
suffering  and  restore  peace  to  the  Island  of  Cuba  un 
til  some  suitable  government  may  be  formed  which 
shall  be  a  guaranty  to  us  and  to  the  other  nations  of 
the  earth  that  it  will  at  all  times  in  the  future  be' 
ready  and  willing  and  able  to  discharge  its  domestic 
and  international  obligations." 

*•         *         * 

"No  one  will  distrust  our  motives  in  taking  this 
step.  We  do  not  intervene  for  revenge,  for  the  ac 
quisition  of  territory,  for  the  extension  of  our  author 
ity  and  power.  Our  past  history  is  ample  proof  of 
this.  Spain  has  long  overtaxed  the  generous  for 
bearance  of  our  people.  We  have  suffered  wrongs 
that  would  have  justified  a  nation  actuated  by  less 
exalted  motives  than  we  to  have  struck  in  revenge. 
Ample  opportunity  has  heretofore  occurred  for  the 
seizure  of  the  island  by  force  if  we  had  been  eager 
to  extend  our  dominion.  The  world  will  acquit  us 


FAIEBANKS 


of  any  base  design.  The  misgovernment  of  Cuba 
has  become  so  flagrant,  the  barbarism,  the  wrongs, 
the  outrages  there  have  so  offended  the  civilized 
world  that  we  must  intervene  for  and  in  the  name  of 
humanity.  No  higher  motive  can  actuate  any  gov 

ernment." 

*  *         * 

"We  are  at  the  beginning  of  a  new  epoch  in  our 
history.  No  graver  emergency  ever  confronted  us 
than  the  one  which  faces  us  at  this  hour.  Peace  is 
about  to  be  abdicated  for  a  policy  which  may  lead  to 
war.  War,  if  it  comes,  will  have  been  forced  upon 
us  by  the  misgovernment,  the  insolence,  the  cruelty 
of  Spain.  Spain  has  too  long  presumed  upon  our 
good  nature.  She  has  too  long  offended  against  the 
sense  of  justice  of  our  people.  Her  desultory,  guer 
rilla-like,  barbarous  warfare  upon  her  subjects  in 
Cuba,  upon  American  citizens  and  American  com 
merce,  has  been  in  effect  a  war  upon  us." 

*  *         * 

"I  confess  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  to  which 
I  have  arrived  after  much  deliberation  —  reluctantly 
and  with  profound  regret.  I  have  hoped  and  prayed 
that  this  great  emergency  might  be  honorably 
averted  or  avoided.  My  hesitancy  did  not  grow  out 
of  any  doubt,  as  to  the  patriotism  or  the  power  of  my 
country.  It  was  due  to  no  possible  doubt  as  to  the 
result  of  the  issue,  but  to  the  fact  that  I  have  felt 
that  even  Spain,  cruel  and  merciless  as  she  has  been, 


130  FAIRBANKS 

would  not  be  wholly  dead  to  our  righteous  and  firm 

appeals." 

•H-          *          -x- 

"All  efforts  at  amicable  solution  have  failed,  and 
all  that  remains  is  to  invoke  the  mighty  power  of  this 
Government  in  behalf  of  enduring  peace  and  imper 
iled  humanity.  We  shall  now  have  the  satisfaction 
of  knowing  that,  coi^e  what  may  in  the  lottery  of 
war,  we  have  left  undone  nothing  which  could  be 
done  consistently  with  honor  to  secure  a  pacific  set 
tlement.  The  Spanish  flag  must  be  withdrawn  and 
cease  forever  to  contaminate  the  air  of  this  hemis 
phere.  To  the  high  and  holy  cause  of  humanity  and 
the  vindication  of  our  national  honor  we  dedicate  the 
lives  and  fortune  of  the  Bepublic." 

War  was  declared,  and  the  country  made  prepara 
tions  to  fill  the  army  and  the  navy.  It  is  known 
how  the  people  rallied  to  the  standard  of  the  nation 
from  every  section.  Those  who  had  fought  for  the 
gray  vied  with  those  who  fought  for  the  blue  in  tes 
tifying  their  devotion  to  the  old  flag.  That  glorious 
page  in  American  history  has  been  read  by  the  world. 
The  United  States  was  to  step  forth  as  the  champion 
of  humanity  and  liberty,  and  the  people  were  ready 
for  it.  Men  who  had  grown  old  and  gray  in  the 
service  of  the  country  tendered  themselves  for  duty ; 
young  men,  sons  of  sires  who  had  fought  on  the 
bloody  battlefields  during  the  civil  war,  came  for 
ward  as  did  their  fathers  in  the  days  from  1861  to 


FAIKBANKS  131 

1865.  Among  those  who  offered  for  duty  at  the 
front  was  Senator  Fairbanks.  In  the  Senate  he  had 
opposed  all  hasty  action  and  advocated  the  exhaus 
tion  of  every  possible  means  to  bring  about  a  peace 
before  resorting  to  arms,  but  when  patience  ceased 
to  be  a  virtue  he  voted  for  the  declaration  that  was 
to  loose  the  army  and  the  navy  of  the  United  States 
to  drive  Spain  from  this  side  of  the  world.  He 
wrote  to  Governor  James  A.  Mount,  of  Indiana, 
tendering  his  services  for  duty  in  the  field.  To  this 
offer  of  his  services  Governor  Mount  made  the  fol 
lowing  reply : 

"My  Dear  Senator — Permit  me  to  say,  in  reply 
to  your  patriotic  tender  of  your  services,  that  I  com 
mend  your  loyalty  to  the  State  and  Nation.  The 
offer  of  your  services  as  a  soldier  means  that  you 
are  ready  to  make  any  sacrifice  for  the  preservation 
of  the  national  honor. 

"I  beg  to  assure  you  that  you  can  best  render  that 
service  in  the  United  States  Senate.  In  this  con 
nection  I  desire  to  commend  your  patriotic  course. 
Your  great  speech  on  the  Cuban  question  was  the 
argument  of  a  statesman.  I  could  not  consent  to 
your  leaving  the  Senate.  Your  constituents  would 
protest.  We  need  statesmen  as  much  as  soldiers. 
We  can  fill  the  places  of  soldiers  much  easier  than 
the  seats  of  Senators. 

"~No  one  can  place  a  higher  estimate  than  I  place 
upon  the  offer  of  your  services  to  the  State  as  a  sol- 


132  FAIEBANKS 

dier,  but  above  this  is  my  measure  of  your  services 
as  a  Senator.    Very  truly  yours, 

"J.  A.  MOUNT. 
"Indianapolis,  May  3,  1898." 

Mr.  Fairbanks  was  a  very  busy  man  in  the  Senate, 
especially  during  the  continuance  of  the  short  war 
with  Spain.  He  earnestly  upheld  in  every  way  the 
hands  of  the  administration  in  forcing  a  speedy 
peace.  He  was  earnest  in  his  advocacy  of  all  the 
war  measures  authorizing  volunteers,  strengthening 
the  navy  and  the  raising  of  the  proper  revenue,  mak 
ing  a  very  elaborate  speech  on  the  bill  for  that  pur 
pose.  He  was  not  hasty  in  throwing  himself  into 
a  debate,  but  carefully  and  studiously  prepared  him 
self  with  facts  and  authorities,  just  as  he  would  pre 
pare  himself  for  an  argument  before  a  court. 

One  of  the  things  to  which  the  Republican  party 
— the  party  to  which  Senator  Fairbanks  owed  alle 
giance — had  pledged  itself  was  to  enact  whatever 
legislation  was  needed  to  maintain  the  parity  of  the 
various  kinds  of  currency  with  gold.  It  was  a  per 
plexing  question,  owing  to  the  variance  in  the  views 
of  the  Republican  members  of  Congress  and  to  the 
strong  opposition  of  the  free  silver  advocates,  who 
would  be  satisfied  with  no  currency  bill  that  did  not 
provide  for  the  coinage  of  silver.  The  struggle  to 
harmonize  the  many  conflicting  views  was  long  and 
arduous.  The  sound  money  members  kept  steadily 
before  them  the  necessity  of  some  legislation  on  the 


FAIKBANKS  133 

subject,  the  only  question  with  them  being  what  shape 
the  legislation  should  take.  There  were,  also,  seem 
ingly  irreconcilable  differences  between  the  two 
houses  of  Congress.  Senator  Fairbanks  watched  the 
course  of  the  legislation  and  the  discussion  with  great 
interest.  A  bill  was  finally  formulated  that  after 
a  long  discussion  passed  the  House  and  was  sent  to 
the  Senate.  There  it  received  many  amendments, 
and  the  struggle  between  the  two  houses  was  trans 
ferred  to  the  room  of  the  Conference  Committee. 
It  was  not  until  the  report  of  that  committee  was 
made  that  Senator  Fairbanks  joined  in  the  discus 
sion. 

He  gave  to  the  question  a  careful  and  exhaustive 
study,  and  came  to  its  discussion  fully  armed  at  all 
points,  with  authorities  and  precedents.  The  speech 
is  an  epitome  of  the  history  of  financial  legislation 
in  this  country,  and  is  valuable  for  reference  to  the 
student  of  finance.  He  again  emphasized  his  adhe 
sion  to  the  gold  standard  and  his  unalterable  oppo 
sition  to  the  free  coinage  of  silver.  On  any  ques 
tion  that  came  up  before  the  Senate  there  was  never 
any  doubt  as  to  where  Senator  Fairbanks  stood.  In 
no  speech  that  he  ever  delivered  was  there  to  be 
found  any  equivocation  or  evasion.  He  always 
stated  his  position  plainly  and  clearly,  that  there 
might  be  no  doubt  about  it.  So  it  was  in  this  speech 
on  the  financial  bill. 

"The  pending  measure,"  he  said,  "continues  gold 


134  FAIRBANKS 

as  the  monetary  unit  or  standard  of  value.  It  does 
not  attempt  to  establish  a  new  standard  of  value  with 
which  we  are  unfamiliar.  It  makes  no  new  experi 
ment  which  may  lead  to  surprises  and  uncertainties, 
to  the  embarrassment  of  commerce  and  the  conse 
quent  injury  of  the  interests  of  labor  and  capital. 
It  is  a  reassurance  to  them  that  no  change  is  to  occur 
in  our  monetary  system  which  will  place  them  in 
immediate  or  serious  peril.  Upon  this  renewed 
pledge  they  may  go  forward,  planning,  building  and 
expanding  for  the  future.  It  allays  apprehensions; 
dispels  fears.  It  becomes  the  secure  foundation  of 
an  expanding  commerce — of  a  larger  commercial 
growth." 

It  was  not  the  custom  of  the  Senator,  while  dis 
cussing  a  question  pending  before  the  Senate,  to  in 
dulge  in  political  bickerings  or  to  contrast  the  atti 
tude  of  the  political  parties  on  the  question,  but  in 
this  speech  he  drew  this  sharp  contrast  between  the 
policy  advocated  by  the  Republicans  and  that  of  their 
opponents : 

"The  issue  between  the  two  parties  is  sharply  de 
fined.  The  one  adheres  to  the  gold  standard  and 
the  consequent  use  of  a  large  but  limited  volume  of 
silver  and  paper  currency,  its  full  equivalent  in 
effecting  the  exchanges  of  the  people,  while  the  other 
is  for  the  maintenance  of  the  single  silver  standard, 
with  gold  expelled  from  the  channels  of  trade.  It 
is  true  this  is  not  its  professed  policy,  yet  it  would 
be  the  inevitable  result  if  its  policy  were  adopted," 


FAIRBANKS  135 

In  another  place  he  defended  the  Republican  party 
from  a  charge  of  inconsistency  made  against  it  by 
Senator  Teller,  saying: 

"It  is  of  little  profit  to  pause  and  consider  whether 
there  has  been  any  variation  in  political  platforms. 
The  pregnant  fact  is  not  whether  a  party  was  right 
or  wrong  in  the  past,  but  whether  it  is  right  now. 
The  Senator  will  search  in  vain  for  any  equivocation 
in  the  utterances  or  the  purposes  of  the  Republican 
party  at  any  time  with  respect  to  the  preservation 
of  the  absolute  equality  of  all  forms  of  currency. 
It  always  has  been  opposed  to  a  degraded  dollar,  and 
at  the  earliest  moment  possible  after  the  war  brought 
every  dollar  of  our  money  to  a  plane  of  absolute 
equality.  It  evolved  order  out  of  financial  chaos  in 
1879  and  has  stood  immovable  for  the  preservation 
of  the  parity  with  each  other  of  our  dollars — gold, 
paper  and  silver." 

The  Senator  once  said  that  he  believed  platforms 
were  made  to  be  lived  up  to,  and  that  all  promises 
should  be  religiously  fulfilled.  To  him  the  platform 
of  his  party  meant  something  more  than  idle  words 
with  which  to  catch  votes.  On  all  proper  occasions 
he  urged  the  prompt  keeping  of  all  promises  made 
to  the  people.  Therefore  he  was  one  of  those  who 
rejoiced  at  the  prospect  of  the  passage  of  the  financial 
bill.  To  him  it  meant  something  in  addition  to 
maintaining  the  gold  standard — it  was  one  more 
promise  kept, 


CHAPTER  IX, 


THE  CONSTITUTION  AND  THE  FLAG. 


war  with  Spain  placed  new  burdens  on  the 
Congress  and  the  Executive.  We  had  taken 
over  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philippine  Islands  from 
Spain,  and  a  system  of  government  was  to  be  formu 
lated  for  them.  This  was  an  exceedingly  delicate 
task  on  many  accounts,  principally  because  the  whole 
system  of  laws  under  which  those  islands  had  been 
governed  for  centuries  was  totally  different  from  that 
which  prevailed  in  the  United  States.  In  addition  to 
this  was  the  fact  that  the  people  spoke  another  lan 
guage,  and  a  vast  majority  of  them  were  illiterate, 
and  having  grown  up  under  tyranny  and  oppression, 
they  were  turbulent  and  intractable. 

A  very  grave  and  perplexing  question  at  once 
arose  —  "Does  the  Constitution  follow  the  flag?"  Pos 
sibly  a  very  large  majority  of  the  American  people 
held  that  the  flag  took  with  it  the  Constitution  and  all 
our  institutions  ;  that  having  taken  possession  and  as 
sumed  jurisdiction  over  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philip 
pines  they  at  once  became  integral  parts  of  the  United 
States,  and  their  citizens  became  citizens  with  us, 

-136- 


FAIKBANKS  137 

with  all  the  rights  of  American  citizens.  In  our  gov 
ernment,  they  said,  we  know  no  such  things  as  "sub 
jects/7  and  many  held  that  the  people  of  our  new 
possessions  must  be  either  citizens  or  subjects. 
Theretofore,  whenever  our  flag  had  been  raised  over 
a  new  possession,  at  the  same  moment  the  Constitu 
tion  had  spread  its  broad  aegis  over  the  people;  but 
here  there  were  complications  that  had  existed  in 
none  of  the  countries  that  had  been  annexed  hereto 
fore."  It  was  indeed  a  delicate  problem — one  much 
harder  than  the  one  presented  at  the  close  of  the  war 
between  the  States,  when  the  status  of  the  negro  had 
to  be  defined.  It  is  not  surprising  that  statesmen 
divided  on  the  question  when  courts,  the  expounders 
of  the  Constitution,  divided. 

A  temporary  solution  was  found  so  far  as  the  in 
ternal  government  was  concerned  by  putting  the 
islands  under  military  control  for  the  time,  but  even 
then  difficulties  were  in  the  way.  If  the  islands  were 
an  integral  part  of  the  country,  then  the  laws  of  Con 
gress  prevailed,  and  among  those  laws  was  one  levy 
ing  impost  duties.  One  day  Porto  Kico  was  a  foreign 
country,  and  its  products  were  liable  to  the  customs 
duties  if  brought  into  this  country;  the  next  day, 
when  it  passed  under  our  jurisdiction,  was  it  entitled 
to  have  its  products  admitted  free  of  customs  duties  ? 
There  "was  another  question  that  looked  for  awhile  as 
if  it  would  be  hard  to  solve.  In  the  Philippines  the 


138  FAIRBANKS 

church  and  the  state  had  been  practically  one.  Such 
a  condition  could  not  remain  under  American  rule. 

Another  question  to  be  solved  was  how  the  ex 
penses  of  the  insular  governments  were  to  be  paid. 
This  was  one  of  the  first  that  arose  in  Congress.  It 
was  proposed  to  retain  our  tariff  law  as  to  Porto  Rico, 
but  so  far  favor  the  products  of  the  island  as  to  admit 
them  on  payment  of  a  very  small  per  cent,  of  the 
duties  levied  on  the  same  articles  from  other  coun 
tries.  This  proposition  raised  a  storm  of  protest  all 
over  the  country.  In  Indiana  the  people  were  prac 
tically  united  in  holding  that  the  Constitution  fol 
lowed  the  flag,  and  that  Porto  Rico,  consequently, 
was  under  the  protection  of  that  instrument  and  no 
customs  duties  could  be  levied  against  its  products. 
Senator  Fairbanks  was  fairly  deluged  with  letters 
and  protests  against  the  proposed  law,  and  he  was 
urged  to  take  a  stand  in  opposition  to  it.  Almost 
every  friend  he  had  in  the  State  counseled  him  so  to 
do.  ' 

Senator  Fairbanks  had  studied  the  question  for 
himself,  and  had  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  Con 
stitution  did  not  of  itself  follow  the  flag,  and  that  in 
the  case  of  our  new  insular  possessions  it  would  not 
be  safe  at  this  time  to  extend  it  over  them ;  that  the 
Constitution  not  automatically  extending  itself,  Con 
gress  had  the  power  to  require  customs  duties  from 
its  products  imported  into  the  States,  and  that  it  was 
very  proper  and  right  so  to  do,  to  provide  for  the 


FAIRBANKS  139 

necessary  expenses  of  maintaining  a  government  over 
them.  He  addressed  the  Senate  in  an  elaborate 
speech  setting  forth  the  reasons  that  impelled  him  to 
take  that  position,  and  in  advocating  the  passage  of 
the  pending  measure  he  said: 

"Whether  the  Constitution  extends  automatically 
to  a  territory  acquired  has  been  a  much  debated  ques 
tion.  Divergent  views  have  been  and  still  are  sharply 
entertained  upon  the  subject.  Such  difference  of 
opinion  will  continue  until  the  Supreme  Court,  in  the 
serenity  of  yonder  judicial  chamber,  shall,  in  a  case 
raising  squarely  the  issue,  determine  the  question. 
Its  supreme  judgment  will  be  accepted  by  the  country, 
for  in  its  wisdom  and  in  the  integrity  of  its  purpose 
there  exists  no  doubt.  Until  it  shall  determine  and 
define  the  powers  of  Congress  under  the  Constitution 
the  Congress  should  reserve  to  itself  the  widest  pos 
sible  liberty,  the  amplest  discretion  in  dealing  with 
the  problems  and  conditions  which  are  now  facing  us 
and  which  were  not  within  the  contemplation  of  the 
wise  framers  of  the  Constitution. 

aOur  Constitution,  for  which  the  American  people 
have  a  respect  and  veneration  next  only  to  their  re 
spect  and  veneration  for  Holy  Writ,  was  framed  for 
the  government  of  a  people  who  had  in  them  the  seed 
of  self-government  which  had  germinated  and  growrn 
for  centuries,  a  people  who  were  familiar  with  the 
privileges  conferred  and  the  duties  imposed  by  the 
Constitution,  and  who  knew  how  to  exercise  and  ob- 


140  FAIEBANKS 

serve  them.  It  was  framed  for  a  people  whose  wants 
and  capacities  were  distinctly  known  and  understood. 

"In  its  essential  principles,  in  its  most  exalted  pur 
pose,  the  Constitution  can  be  adapted  to  many  peoples 
and  many  countries  that  are  without  preliminary 
training  or  experience ;  but  as  to  others  it  would  be 
illy  adapted,  and  some  modification  as  to  details 
would  become  necessary,  if  it  were  to  be  applied  to 
them.  The  spirit  of  that  immortal  instrument  may 
go  everywhere,  but  many  of  its  fixed  and  absolute 
provisions  would  rest  imperfectly  upon  those  peoples 
and  races  whose  traditions  and  conditions  are  entirely 
unlike  our  own." 

Senator  Fairbanks  fully  appreciated  the  impor 
tance  and  gravity  of  the  question,  and  in  earnest 
words  appealed  for  deliberate  action.  He  said: 

"The  greatest  danger  in  dealing  with  the  new  prob 
lems  which  engage  our  attention  is  undue  haste,  un- 
considerate  action.  There  will  be  no  difficulty  in 
solving  them  if  we  will  be  content  to  act  only  upon 
ample  information  and  be  willing  to  retrace  our  steps 
if  we  go  wrong.  There  is  no  mind  so  gifted  as  to 
be  able  to  see  the  end  from  the  beginning.  We  must 
obtain  the  best  lights  possible  and  follow  them  in  the 
settlement  of  the  questions  before  us,  actuated  always 
by  the  exalted  purpose  to  deal  justly  and  liberally 
with  those  who,  through  one  of  the  great  revolutions 
in  history — may  I  not  say  evolutions — are  committed 
to  our  care. 


FAIRBANKS  141 

aWe  should  remember  that  free  government  did 
not  spring,  Athena  like,  into  existence,  but  is  the  fruit 
of  centuries  of  trial  and  tribulation,  and  that  educa 
tion  and  experience  are  essential  before  any  people 
can  appreciate  and  exercise  that  government  which 
we  enjoy  and  which  we  believe  is  the  best  that  human 
wisdom  has  devised." 

Having  exhaustively  discussed  the  powers  of  Con 
gress,  the  conditions  of  the  people  of  Porto  Rico, 
and  the  political  soundness  of  the  position  he  had 
taken,  the  Senator  concluded  his  remarks  with  the 
following  words  in  giving  his  adhesion  to  the  pending 
bill: 

"We  should  approach  and  consider  the  subject  be 
fore  us  in  no  illiberal  or  dogmatic  spirit.  No  matter 
what  shades  of  opinion  with  respect  to  the  best  course 
to  be  pursued  and  the  wisest  measures  to  be  adopted 
with  reference  to  Porto  Rico,  there  is  perfect  unity 
of  purpose  among  all  parties  to  provide  the  most  lib 
eral  form  of  government  and  just  laws  under  which 
her  welfare  may  be  promoted  in  the  very  highest  de 
gree.  The  pending  bill  commands  my  judgment,  my 
conscience ;  it  shall  have  my  vote.  It  has  not  been 
given  to  finite  mind  to  read  the  future  of  Porto  Rico, 
but  we  may  believe  that  under  the  inspiration  of 
republican  laws  and  the  impetus  of  American  ex 
ample  her  people  will  grow  in  knowledge,  strength 
and  power,  and  forever  bless  the  great  Republic." 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  JOINT  HIGH  COMMISSION. 

\T7HEN  Mr.  McKinley  entered  upon  the  dis- 
*  *  charge  of  his  duties  as  President  several  very 
grave  and  important  questions  were  pending  with 
Canada,  among  them  being  the  boundary  of  Alaska. 
The  United  States  had  purchased  all  the  rights  of 
Russia  over  the  Alaskan  territory,  and  until  the  dis 
covery  of  rich  gold  fields  in  that  country  there  was  lit 
tle  thought  or  care  as  to  where  the  actual  boundary 
lines  were.  The  discovery  of  gold,  however,  at  once 
made  these  lines  a  serious  question,  especially  as  Can 
ada  laid  claim  to  much  more  territory  than  the 
United  States  was  willing  to  accord.  The  dispute 
waxed  warm  between  the  two  countries,  but  at  no 
time  seriously  threatened  to  involve  us  with  our 
neighbor. 

In  May,  1896,  a  protocol  was  signed  between  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  for  the  appointment 
of  a  Joint  High  Commission  for  the  adjustment  of 
the  Canadian  questions.  The  commission  was  to  be 
composed  of  ten  commissioners,  five  of  whom  were  to 
be  appointed  by  each  government.  Later  the  com- 

-142- 


FAIRBANKS  148 

mission  was  increased  to  twelve  members,  six  from 
each  country. 

There  were  several  questions  to  be  submitted  for 
the  consideration  and  determination. of  the  commis 
sion.  Many  of  them  were  of  long  standing  and  of 
great  importance,  and  it  was  desired  by  the  two  coun 
tries  to  have  them  considered  by  the  commission  and 
finally  put  to  rest.  They  had  been  the  source  of  more 
or  less  friction  between  the  two  great  powers  for 
many  years,  and  the  two  governments  anxiously  de 
sired  to  have  them  adjusted  in  order  that  good  neigh 
borhood  between  them  might  not  be  disturbed.  The 
principal  subjects  submitted  were  as  follows: 

First.  The  questions  in  respect  to  the  fur  seals 
in  Bering  Sea  and  the  waters  of  the  North  Pacific 
Ocean. 

Second.  Provisions  in  respect  to  the  fisheries  off 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  coasts,  and  in  the  waters  of 
their  common  frontier. 

Third.  Provisions  for  the  delimitation  and  estab 
lishment  of  the  Alaska-Canadian  boundary,  by  legal 
and  scientific  experts,  if  the  commission  shall  so  de 
cide,  or  otherwise. . 

Fourth.  Provisions  for  the  transit  of  merchandise 
in  transportation  to  or  from  either  country,  across 
intermediate  territory  of  the  other,  whether  by  land 
or  water,  including  natural  and  artificial  waterways 
and  intermediate  transit  by  sea. 

Fifth.     Provisions  relating  to  the  transit  of  mer- 

(10) 


144  FAIRBANKS 

chandise  from  one  country  to  be  delivered  at  points 
in  the  other  beyond  the  frontier. 

Sixth.  The  question  of  the  alien  labor  laws  appli 
cable  to  the  subjects  or  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  of  Canada. 

Seventh.  Mining  rights  of  the  citizens  or  subjects 
of  each  country  within  the  territory  of  the  other. 

Eighth.  Such  readjustment  and  concessions  as 
may  be  deemed  mutually  advantageous  of  customs 
duties  applicable  in  each  country  to  the  products  of 
the  soil  or  industry  of  the  other,  upon  the  basis  of 
reciprocal  equivalents. 

JSTinth.  A  revision  of  the  agreement  of  1817  re 
specting  naval  vessels  on  the  lakes. 

Tenth.  Arrangements  for  the  more  complete  def 
inition  and  marking  of  any  part  of  the  frontier  line, 
by  land  or  water,  where  the  same  is  now  so  ineffi 
ciently  defined  or  marked  as  to  be  liable  to  dispute. 

Eleventh.  Provisions  for  the  conveyance  for  trial 
or  punishment  of  persons  in  the  lawful  custody  of  the 
officers  of  one  country  through  the  territory  of  the 
other. 

Twelfth.  Reciprocity  in  wrecking  and  salvage 
rights. 

President  McKinley  appointed  as  Commissioners 
of  the  United  States  : 

Charles  W.   Fairbanks,  United  States   Senator 

from  Indiana ; 

George  Gray,  United  States  Senator  from  Dela 
ware: 


FAIKBANKS  145 

Nelson    Dingley,    Member   of   Congress   from 

Maine ; 
John  W.  Foster,  of  Indiana,  ex-Secretary  of 

State; 

John  A.  Kasson,  of  Iowa,  ex-Minister  to  Spain ; 
T.    Jefferson    Coolidge,   of  Massachusetts,   ex- 
Minister  to  France. 

Senator   Fairbanks  was  made   Chairman  of  the 
American  Commissioners. 
Great  Britain  appointed: 

Lord    Herschel,    Lord    Chancellor    of    Great 

Britain : 

Sir  Wilfred  Laurier,  Premier  of  Canada ; 
Sir  Richard  J.  Cartwright,  Minister  of  Finance 

of  Canada; 

Sir  Louis  Davies,  Minister  of  Marines  and  Fish 
eries  of  Canada ; 

John  Carlton,  Member  of  the  Canadian  Parlia 
ment; 

Sir  James  Winter,  Premier  of  Newfoundland. 
The  commission  met  at  Quebec  in  August,  1898, 
and  addressed  itself  to  the  consideration  of  the  sub 
jects  embraced  in  the  protocol.  After  being  in  ses 
sion  some  weeks  it  adjourned  to  meet  in  Washington. 
It  assembled  in  the  latter  place  in  December,  1898. 
There  it  labored  for  several  months  in  an  effort  to 
compose  the  differences  between  the  two  powers. 
The  commission  practically  determined  many  of  the 
questions  submitted,  but  the  differences  which  arose 


146  FAIRBANKS 

with  respect  to  the  Alaskan  boundary  made  a  recess 
necessary,  without  the  final  adjustment  of  any  of  the 
questions  pending  before  it. 

The  American  Commissioners  urged  the  settle 
ment  of  those  questions  which  were  substantially 
agreed  upon,  leaving  the  boundary  question  for  the 
determination  of  the  two  governments ;  but  the  Brit 
ish  Commissioners  declined  to  proceed  with  the  fur 
ther  consideration  of  the  remaining  questions  while 
the  boundary  question  was  undetermined. 

The  Joint  High  Commission  issued  a  statement 
showing  the  status  of  the  negotiations  and  that  an 
agreement  had  been  reached  practically  on  many  of 
the  questions,  but  that  on  the  Alaskan  boundary  no 
agreement  was  possible;  that  the  British  Commis 
sioners  favored  a  submission  of  that  question  to  arbi 
tration,  but  the  American  Commissioners  would  not 
agree  to  submit  to  a  foreign  arbitrator  the  question  as 
to  the  coast  line  boundary. 

After  the  adjournment  of  the  Washington  meet 
ing  of  the  commission  without  reaching  any  definite 
results,  Senator  Fairbanks,  at  the  instance  of  Presi 
dent  McKinley,  visited  Alaska  to  obtain  what  light 
he  could  on  the  question  in  dispute.  He  visited  all 
the  waterways  and  studied  the  topography  of  the 
country.  He  also  made  extensive  inquiries  of  the  res 
idents  as  to  what  jurisdiction,  if  any,  had  been  exer 
cised  by  Great  Britain  over  any  portion  of  the  dis 
puted  territory. 


FAIKBANKS  147 

On  August  18,  1901,  Senator  Fairbanks  reviewed 
the  work  of  the  Commission  and  suggested  its  reas 
sembling,  to  resume  the  consideration  of  the  subjects 
that  admitted  of  ready  solution.  Respecting  the 
boundary  dispute  he  said: 

"We  can  not  submit  to  a  foreign  arbitrator  the 
determination  of  the  Alaska  coast  line,  under  the 
treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Russia  of  1SG7. 
That  line  was  established  by  the  convention  of  1825 
between  Great  Britain  and  Russia.  The  coast  line 
was  carefully  safeguarded  by  Russia,  and  the  United 
States  has  invariably  insisted  that  it  should  not  be 
broken.  Its  integrity  wras  never  questioned  by  Great 
Britain  until  after  the  protocol  of  May,  1898. 

"In  short,  'the  views  of  the  British  government  in 
regard  to  the  bearing  of  the  treaty  of  1825  upon  the 
territorial  rights  around  the  upper  part  of  the  Lynn 
Canal/  which  are  now  entertained  by  that  govern 
ment,  were  not  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  United 
States  until  May,  1898. 

"The  boundary  back  of  the  coast  line  is  not  well- 
defined,  and  should  be  established,  and  with  as  much 
dispatch  as  is  reasonably  possible.  We  do  not  dis 
agree  as  to  this.  We  have  been  disposed  to  be  liberal 
with  respect  to  providing  for  its  suitable  delimitation, 
but  as  to  that  territory  so  long  possessed  by  the 
United  States  upon  the  Pacific  coast  and  occupied  by 
it  without  challenge  from  any  other  power,  we  find 
no  subject  whatever  for  the  consideration  of  an  arbi- 


148  FAIKBANKS 

tral  tribunal.  We  are  unwilling,  through  an  Euro 
pean  arbitrator,  to  put  in  peril  our  Pacific  coast  line, 
which  was  maintained  unbroken  by  Russia  and  the 
United  States,  and  remained  unquestioned  for  nearly 
seventy-five  years. 

"Our  negotiations  have  been  characterized  by  a 
spirit  of  mutual  respect  and  good  will,  and  by  a  de 
sire  of  the  respective  commissioners  to  promote  good 
neighborhood  between  the  two  governments,  which 
must  ever  sustain  toward  each  other  the  most  inti 
mate  commercial  and  social  relations. 

"The  American  Commissioners  always  have  de 
sired,  and  desire  still,  to  determine  and  remove  from 
dispute  as  many  controverted  questions  as  possible, 
in  order  that  the  good  relations  of  the  two  govern 
ments  may  still  continue  unbroken.  They  are  in  no 
wise  interdependent,  and  the  settlement  of  any  num 
ber  of  them  will  not,  as  we  believe,  prejudice  the  ulti 
mate  disposition  of  the  boundary  question.  But,  as 
much  as  we  desire  to  conclude  the  questions  which  we 
have  practically  determined,  we  can  not  consent  to 
settle  them  upon  the  condition  that  we  must  abandon 
to  the  chance  of  an  European  arbitrator  a  part  of  the 
domain  of  the  United  States  upon  which  American 
citizens  have  actually  built  their  homes  and  erected 
their  industries  long  prior  to  any  suggestion  from 
Great  Britain  that  she  had  any  claim  of  right  thereto. 
We  are  not  to  be  understood,  from  the  foregoing,  as 
opposing  a  board  of  jurists  of  repute,  or  scientific  ex- 


FAIEBANKS  149 

perts,  selected  equally  by  our  respective  govern 
ments,  to  determine  and  demark  the  boundary  back 
of  or  east  of  the  coast  line  on  the  main  land. 

"Inasmuch  as  the  Alaska  boundary  is  a  subject 
which  stands  by  itself,  and  is,  by  the  action  of  the 
commission,  remitted  to  the  two  governments,  may 
we  not  leave  it  with  them,  and  proceed  to  further  con 
sider  and  dispose  of  the  remaining  questions  at  some 
date  mutually  convenient  2  They,  or  the  most  of 
them,  are  so  advanced  that  they  can  be  concluded  at 
a  brief  sitting. 

"I  shall  be  gratified  to  be  assured  that  this  is  quite 
agreeable  to  you. 

"The  views  herein  expressed,  I  am  pleased  to  say, 
have  the  sanction  of  the  President  and  of  the  Secre 
tary  of  State." 

In  1902  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 
agreed  upon  a  Boundary  Tribunal  composed  of  six 
jurists  of  repute,  three  of  whom  were  appointed  by 
each  government.  This  was  the  tribunal  proposed  by 
the  American  members  of  the  Joint  High  Commis 
sion,  but  which  was  then  rejected  by  the  British  Com 
mission. 

The  members  of  the  Boundary  Commission  ap 
pointed  by  the  United  States  were: 

The  Honorable  Elihu  Root,  Secretary  of  War; 
Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  United  States  Senator  from 
Massachusetts;  and  George  Turner,  United  States 
Senator  from  Washington, 


150  FAIEBANKS 

The  commission  was  organized  and  sat  in  London, 
and  after  elaborate  hearings  four  members  of  the 
commission  (the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England  join 
ing  with  the  three  American  Commissioners)  held 
that  the  construction  of  the  treaty  under  which  the 
United  States  acquired  Alaska  was  substantially  as 
claimed  by  the  United  States,  thus  justifying  the  posi 
tion  maintained  by  the  United  States  Commissioners 
before  the  Joint  High  Commission. 

Of  the  work  of  the  Joint  High  Commission  and 
the  ability  displayed  by  Senator  Fairbanks,  Hon. 
John  W.  Foster,  ex-Secretary  of  State,  and  one  of  the 
American  Commissioners,  in  a  recent  communication 
thus  speaks : 

"During  the  administration  of  President  McKin- 
ley  it  was  deemed  desirable  to  make  an  earnest  effort 
to  adjust  the  various  questions  between  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  some  of  which  had  been  the 
source  of  controversy  between  the  two  neighboring 
countries  for  generations,  and  all  of  which  tended 
to  disturb  the  harmony  of  their  relations. 

"Among  these  were  the  Northeastern  fisheries, 
which  had  been  the  fruitful  source  of  discussion  and 
negotiations  for  a  hundred  years;  the  Bering  Sea 
seal  industry,  which  had  at  one  time  threatened  war 
with  Great  Britain  and  had  been  the  subject  of  in 
ternational  arbitration,  but  was  still  a  ^vexed  and  un 
settled  question;  the  Alaskan  boundary  dispute,  a 
topic  likely  at  any  time  to  bring  about  a  conflict  of 


FAIKBANKS  151 

authorities;  commercial  reciprocity,  a  subject  in 
which  the  Canadians  and  certain  sections  of  the 
United  States  took  a  deep  interest ;  the  bonding  priv 
ilege,  intimately  connected  with  our  interstate  com 
merce  laws  and  the  unequal  competition  of  the  Cana 
dian  railroads ;  and  several  other  questions,  as  naval 
armament  on  the  Great  Lakes,  reciprocal  mining 
privileges,  immigration  and  the  labor  laws,  more  ac 
curate  marking  of  the  international  boundary,  etc., 
embracing  no  less  than  twelve  different  subjects. 

"It  was  determined  to  refer  all  these  matters  to  a 
Joint  High  Commission,  and  six  persons  were  se« 
lected  by  the  United  States  and  an  equal  number 
by  Great  Britain.  For  members  of  this  commission 
it  was  the  desire  of  President  McKinley  to  name 
statesmen  of  large  experience  and  the  highest  stand 
ing,  as  it  was  known  that  the  British  members  would 
be  men  of  prominence  and  ability.  It  was  a  most 
distinguished  honor  that  Senator  Fairbanks  should 
be  chosen  as  chairman  of  the  American  Commission, 
especially  as  there  were  associated  with  him  men  of 
much  longer  experience  in  the  public  service.  The 
British  Commission  was  headed  by  Lord  Ilerschel, 
the  Lord  Chancellor  and  the  recognized  head  of  the 
English  bar,  and  next  on  the  Commission  was  Sir 
Wilfred  Laurier,  the  Prime  Minister  of  Canada,  a 
resourceful  and  brilliant  statesman. 

"During  the  years  1898  and  1899  the  Joint  High 
Commission  held  two  sessions  in  Quebec  and  two  in 


152  FAIKBANKS 

Washington,  and  went  very  fully  over  the  important 
subjects  committed  to  it  for  adjustment.  On  several 
of  these  it  reached  practically  satisfactory  conclu 
sions,  which  would  have  taken  the  shape  of  treaty 
stipulations,  but  for  an  irreconcilable  difference  of 
opinion  respecting  the  Alaskan  boundary.  Because 
of  a  failure  to  agree  to  an  adjustment  of  this  matter, 
the  British  members  of  the  Commission  refused  to 
come  to  an  agreement  on  any  other  of  the  questions 
before  it,  and  the  Commission  adjourned  to  meet 
again  whenever  convened  by  the  chairmen  of  the  two 
sections. 

"The  Alaskan  boundary  controversy  has  happily 
been  satisfactorily  settled  by  the  London  Joint  Tri 
bunal,  and  this  result,  so  gratifying  to  the  United 
States,  was  largely  due  to  the  work  of  the  Joint  High 
Commission.  Senator  Fairbanks  was  a  member  of 
the  sub-committee  having  the  Alaskan  boundary  in 
charge,  and  he  took  a  deep  interest  in  shaping  the 
issues  which  were  eventually  submitted  to  the  London 
Tribunal. 

"The  other  questions  before  the  Commission  still 
remain  unsettled,  because,  owing  to  the  irritation  in 
Canada  over  the  Alaskan  boundary  decision,  the 
Commission  has  not  as  yet  been  reassembled;  but 
the  work  already  accomplished  has  not  been  in  vain. 
If  that  body  does  not  again  come  together,  its  work 
is  in  the  hands  of  the  two  governments,  and  it  is 
quite  feasible  for  them  to  take  up  and  adjust  several 


FAIBBANKS  153 

of  the  matters  which  were  practically  agreed  upon 
by  the  Commission. 

"It  is  a  matter  of  pride  to  Americans  to  be  assured 
that  in  all  the  deliberations  of  the  Commission,  when 
he  was  confronted  by  the  ablest  lawyers  and  states 
men  of  England  and  Canada,  Senator  Fairbanks  sus 
tained  the  cause  of  his  country  with  skill  and  success, 
and  represented  it  with  great  dignity  and  uniform 
courtesy." 


CHAPTER  XL 


THE  ASSASSINATION  OF  PRESIDENT  McKINLEY. 

T  N  1900  President  McKinley  was  nominated  and 
-*-  elected  to  succeed  himself.  The  intimacy  and 
friendship  between  the  Senator  and  the  President 
continually  increased,  and  so  highly  did  the  Presi 
dent  regard  the  abilities  of  his  Indiana  friend  that 
he  gave  him  notice  that  it  was  his  intention  in  the 
near  future  to  invite  him  into  his  Cabinet.  On  the 
sixth  day  of  September,  1901,  a  terrible  blow  fell 
upon  the  American  people,  and  for  the  third  time 
within  a  third  of  a  century  an  American  President 
was  stricken  down  by  the  hand  of  an  assassin.  This 
great  calamity  touched  all  Americans.  It  was  a  blow 
at  law  and  order. 

For  six  years  Mr.  Fairbanks  had  been  on  terms 
of  the  closest  intimacy  with  Mr.  McKinley.  The 
President  relied  much  on  the  judgment  and  sagacity 
of  the  Senator;  the  Senator  had  an  exalted  estimate 
of  the  ability  and  patriotism  of  the  President.  Un 
der  these  circumstances  the  blow  fell  with  peculiar 
force  on  Senator  Fairbanks.  To  the  nation  it  was 
the  President  who  had  been  slain;  to  Senator  Fair- 

—154- 


FAIEBANKS  155 

banks  it  was  a  loved  friend.  When  the  bullet  of 
the  assassin  had  found  its  mark  all  thought  the  end 
had  come,  but  a  few  days  later  it  was  announced 
that  the  stricken  President  would  recover.  Senator 
Fairbanks  had  been  at  the  bedside  of  his  friend  and 
chief,  but  when  this  cheering  word  from  the  surgeons 
was  received  he  left  Buffalo  to  fulfill  an  engagement 
to  address  a  Thanksgiving  service  of  the  Grand  Army 
of  the  Republic  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  to  be  presided 
over  by  Senator  Ilanna.  That  great  body  of  patri 
otic  men,  who  had  served  their  country  on  the  field 
of  battle  in  the  hour  of  the  country's  direst  need, 
held  a  Thanksgiving  service  over  the  announcement 
that  the  President  was  to  yet  live.  Senator  Fair 
banks  paid  a  glowing  tribute  to  the  character  of  the 
President,  and  said: 

"Fellow  citizens,  it  is  a  source  of  gratification  to 
know  that  in  the  solution  and  settlement  of  the  great 
problems  and  great  questions  which  are  yet  pending 
before  the  American  people,  undetermined,  we  shall 
have  the  wise  statesmanship  of  William  McKinley. 
We  not  only  want  him,  and  wish  him  to  live  for 
that,  but  we  wish  him  to  live  as  the  American  people 
wished  that  Abraham  Lincoln  might  live,  until  he 
can  see  the  full  fruition  of  his  administration,  and 
live  many  years  to  receive  the  grateful  homage  of 

a  grateful   republic My  friends,   let 

us  retire  to  our  homes  with  a  profounder  rev 
erence  for  law  and  order;  let  us  return  to  our 


156  FAIRBANKS 

homes  and  continue  at  the  fireside  our  supplica 
tion  to  the  Allwise  Ruler  that  He  speed  the  hour 
when  the  brave  President  of  the  United  States  will 
leave  his  hed  of  pain  and  walk  again  among  the 
people  he  loves  so  well,  in  the  full  possession  of  his 
health  and  his  magnificent  manhood." 

Hardly  had  these  words  died  away  on  the  air  when 
the  startling  news  came  that  the  great  President  was 
dead.  The  country  was  shrouded  in  grief,  and  all 
the  nations  of  the  earth  joined  America  in  mourning 
over  the  awful  crime. 

In  October,  1901,  he  addressed  a  campfire  of  the 
Sixty-ninth  Indiana  and  paid  a  tribute  to  the  mem 
ory  of  the  late  President,  and  thus  spoke  of  the 
crime  that  took  from  the  country  its  Chief  Exec 
utive  : 

"I  speak  only  the  truth  when  I  say  that  when  the 
tragedy  occurred  at  Buffalo  Democrats  and  Republi 
cans  felt  that  a  crime  had  been  committed  against 
them  each  alike.  It  seems  yet  like  a  horrid  night 
mare.  What  had  this  man  done  to  deserve  such  a 
fate?  One  of  the  kindest,  one  of  the  bravest,  and 

one  of  the  best The  blow  was  not 

struck  alone  at  him;  it  was  a  blow  struck  at  the 
state.  Anarchy !  What  a  hated  word  !  Anarchists 
— how  at  war  with  all  our  conceptions  of  right,  of 
orderly  government !  Anarchists  !  There  is  no  room 
in  this  Republic,  great  and  splendid  as  it  is,  for 
anarchy!  The  red  flag  must  go  down  in  the  face 


FAIRBANKS  157 

of  the  Stars  and  Stripes!  The  anarchist  is  the 
enemy  of  all  governments,  monarchial  and  republican 
alike.  There  ought  to  be  treaties  between  the  various 
governments  in  the  civilized  world  leaving  no  spot 
for  anarchy  to  place  its  foot  short  of  perdition  itself." 

President  McKinley  worshiped  at  the  Metropoli 
tan  Methodist  Church  at  Washington,  and  a  few 
months  after  his  death  a  tablet  to  his  memory  was 
placed  in  the  church.  On  that  occasion  Senator  Fair 
banks  was  one  of  the  speakers.  His  short  speech  was 
a  generous  tribute  to  the  worth  of  the  martyred  Pres 
ident.  Because  of  its  correct  estimate  of  the  char 
acter  of  Mr.  McKinley,  and  because  it  evidences  the 
sincere  feeling  and  affection  of  the  Senator,  it  is 
reproduced  here :  , 

"My  friends,  we  are  met  to  perform  a  most  gra 
cious  service — to  dedicate  here,  in  this  house  of  God, 
a  tablet  to  one  of  the  few  names  that  was  born  to 
never  die.  We  stand  upon  ground  made  sacred  by 
the  presence  of  William  McKinley.  Unto  this  shrine 
the  Christians  will  come  in  the  unnumbered  years 
before  us  and  derive  new  hope  and  inspiration.  It 
seems  but  yesterday  that  our  friend  occupied  yonder 
pew,  brave,  strong,  in  the  very  plenitude  of  power, 
the  most  beloved  of  our  fellow-men.  We  can  yet 
almost  hear  his  voice  as  it  was  raised  in  song  and 
thanksgiving.  Here  he  came  upon  the  Sabbath  day 
to  pay  tribute  to  his  Maker,  for  he  was  a  sincere 
believer  in  religion,  a  devout  Christian  and  a  doer 


158  FAIRBANKS 

of  Christian  deeds.  He  not  only  taught  but  carried 
the  great  truths  into  every  act  and  deed  of  his  life. 

"It  was  here  he  found  solace  from  the  great  and 
arduous  responsibilities  which  rested  upon  him,  and 
drew  courage  and  inspiration  to  meet  and  discharge 
them.  It  does  not  seem  that  it  was  but  a  few, months 
ago,  less  than  one  brief  year,  that  our  friend  was 
here.  It  is,  indeed,  but  a  short  time,  measured  by 
the  calendar,  but  measured  by  events  how  long  it 
is.  What  mighty  events  have  come  and  gone;  how 
the  great  heart  of  the  nation  has  been  wrung  with 
an  uncommon  sorrow.  The  tragedy  at  Buffalo  was 
the  master  crime  of  the  new  century.  We  could  not 
at  first  believe  the  awful  truth — it  was  so  unnatural. 
We  stood  bereft  of  speech.  Who  could  be  so  dead 
to  all  sense  of  pity  as  to  strike  down  one  who  so 
loved  his  fellow-men  ?  About  us  everywhere  were 
the  ample  evidences  of  peace.  Sectional  differences 
were  dead;  a  fraternal  spirit  was  everywhere,  and 
under  the  guidance  of  our  great  President  we  were 
moving  on  to  a  splendid  national  destiny. 

"The  theme  which  this  occasion  suggests  is  a  great 
one — too  vast  for  the  brief  hour  in  which  we  are 
assembled.  There  is  in  all  the  world  nothing  so 
great  and  beneficent  as  a  good  name.  It  raises  our 
poor  humanity  to  a  more  exalted  plane.  It  lifts  us 
into  an  'ampler  ether  and  diviner  air.'  William  Mc- 
Kinley  was,  in  the  fullest  and  best  sense  of  the  word, 
fof  the  people.'  He  rose  by  the  force  of  his  genius 


FAIRBANKS  159 

from  an  humble  beginning  to  stand  among  the  great 
est  of  men.  He  sought  to  interpret  the  public  will, 
knowing  full  well  that  the  wisdom  of  the  people  is 
unerring,  that  their  voice  is  indeed  the  voice  of 
Almighty  God.  He  inspired  confidence  among  men 
in  the  integrity  of  his  purpose  and  in  the  wisdom 
of  his  policies.  He  was  a  total  stranger  to  arts  by 
which  weaker  men  seek  to  attain  place  and  power. 
He  did  not  attempt  to  rise  upon  men ;  he  preferred 
to  rise  with  them.  His  mind  and  heart  were  filled 
with  no  shadow  of  hate ;  the  sunshine  of  love,  affec 
tion  and  human  sympathy  filled  them  to  overflowing. 
He  was  in  the  truest  and  best  sense  a  patriot.  He 
gave  the  best  years  of  his  life — he  gave  life  itself 

to  his  country In  the  National  House 

of  Eepresentatives  he  won  enduring  fame  by  his  in 
telligent  service  and  complete  consecration  to  the  in 
terests  of  his  fellow-men.  His  every  act  was  char 
acterized  by  a  high  conception  of  his  exalted  trust. 
When  summoned  by  the  voice  of  his  countrymen  to 
the  chief  office  in  the  Republic  he  entered  upon  its 
grave  and  difficult  duties  with  a  full  consciousness 
of  the  tremendous  responsibility  that  rested  upon 
him.  He  reverently  invoked  wisdom  from  on  high 
that  he  might  well  discharge  the  task  that  had  come 
to  him. 

"When  others  sought  to  plunge  the  Nation  into 
war  he  stood  against  it  with  all  his  power.  He 
abhorred  it,  although  knowing  full  well  that  victory 

(11) 


160  FAIRBANKS 

must  crown  our  arms  if  war  should  come,  and  that 
the  prestige  of  his  name  would  fill  the  earth.  He 
thought  not  of  that,  but  of  the  loss  and  suffering  the 
war  must  bring.  And  not  until  all  pacific  means 
had  been  exhausted  and  the  national  honor  com 
manded  did  he  consent  that  his  country  should  draw 
the  sword.  When  obliged  to  strike  he  struck  rapidly 
and  with  terrific  power,  and  upon  the  ruins  of  mon 
archy  he  planted  republican  institutions. 

"The  multitude  will  come  and  look  on  yonder  tab 
let  and  in  time  it  will  crumble  away.  Monuments 
will  arise  throughout  the  land  and  disappear.  Can 
vas  will  seek  to  perpetuate  and  be  forgotten,  but  the 
name  of  our  friend  will  live.  His  enduring  tribute 
will  be  found  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  so  long  as 
this  great  Republic  endures.  .Long  after  we  have 
lived  our  brief  hour  and  the  physical  monuments  we 
have  raised  have  been  resolved  into  the  dust,  the 
pure,  patriotic  and  holy  influence  of  William  Mc- 
Kinley  will  continue  to  be  an  inspiration  and  bene 
diction  among  men.77 

So  well  was  the  intimate  friendship  that  existed 
between  the  Senator  and  the  President  known  that 
on  several  occasions  where  a  tribute  was  to  be 
paid  to  the  memory  of  the  President  Mr.  Fairbanks 
was  invited  to  deliver  an  address.  The  most  notable 
of  these  occasions  was  the  unveiling  of  the  McKinley 
monument  at  Toledo,  Ohio,  on  September  14,  1903. 
On  that  occasion  the  Senator  delivered  an  elaborate 


FAIRBANKS  161 

:  ddress  in  which  he  reviewed  the  life  and  public 
Cervices  of  Mr.  McKinley.  The  soldier,  the  man, 
the  Representative  in  Congress,  the  Governor,  the 
President,  all  passed  in  review  before  the  audience. 
It  was  not  alone  the  tribute  of  an  eulogist,  but  the 
tribute  of  one  acute  mind  to  the  public  services  of 
another.  As  a  citizen  Mr.  Fairbanks  had  lost  his 
President;  as  a  party  man  he  had  lost  his  political 
chief ;  as  a  friend  he  had  lost  a  brother ;  and  in  pay 
ing  his  great  tribute  at  Toledo  to  the  dead  he  spoke 
as  a  citizen  and  a  friend,  but  not  as  a  party  man. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


OTHER  SERVICES  IN  THE  SENATE. 

of  the  perplexing  problems  that  have  been 
before  Congress — the  one  that  has  given  the 
widest  latitude  to  debate — has  been  the  future  of  the 
Philippine  Islands.  They  fell  to  us  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  war  with  Spain,  and  they  have  been  a  bone 
of  contention  between  the  twro  great  parties  ever 
since.  Against  the  holding  of  them  by  the  United 
States  the  cry  of  "imperialism"  was  raised.  All 
seemingly  admitted  that,  having  dispossessed  Spain, 
it  was  the  duty  of  this  Government  to  establish  peace 
and  order — a  duty  we  owed  to  humanity,  to  other 
nations,  and  to  ourselves,  but  the  people  divided  en 
the  question  of  wyhat  was  to  be  done  with  the  islands 
after  peace  and  order  was  established.  It  was  a 
question  on  which  there  might  well  be  a  difference 
of  opinion  among  the  good  and  the  patriotic  of  this 
country.  How  to  govern  the  islands,  how  much  lib 
erty  to  give  to  the  people,  how  far  political  liberty 
should  be  restricted,  engaged  the  earnest  thought  of 
our  statesmen. 

As  a  mere  question  of  territorial  expansion,  few, 


—182- 


FAIRBANKS  163 

possibly,  could  be  found  to  advocate  the  taking  and 
holding  possession  of  the  archipelago,  but  other  con 
siderations  moved  the  commissioners  who  negotiated, 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  the  treaty  of  Paris. 
In  1902  a  bill  to  provide  a  temporary  government 
for  the' Philippines  was  pending  before  the  Senate. 
The  committee  that  had  the  bill  under  consideration 
divided  and  two  reports  were  made.  That  of  the 
minority  called  for  an  immediate  declaration  of  the 
future  purpose  of  the  United  States  in  regard  to  the 
islands'. 

The  debate  was  long  and  at  times  acrimonious. 
Many  charges  were  made  against  the  administration 
of  the  late  President  McKinley.  He  wTas  accused 
of  having  overthrown  a  republic;  of  having  set  up 
a  government  without  the  consent  of  the  governed, 
and  of  having  done  many  other  things  contrary  to 
the  traditions  of  this  country.  The  debate  spread 
from  the  Congress  to  the  country,  and  the  newspa 
pers  and  political  orators  at  home  joined  in  the  hue 
and  cry,  some  demanding  an  immediate  withdrawal 
from  the1  Philippines,  and  others,  with  equal  vigor, 
contending  that  we  should  continue  to  hold  the 
islands. 

There  were  some  members  of  Congress  who  did 
not  lose  themselves  or  their  calm  deliberation  in  this 
whirlwind  of  political  debate,  for  that  is  what  the 
debate  had  degenerated  to.  Among  these  was  Sen 
ator  Fairbanks.  He  did  not  take  part  in  the  debate 


164  FAIKBANKS 

until  near  its  close,  when  he  delivered  a  speech  re 
viewing  the  history  of  our  possession  of  the  islands, 
the  course  pursued  in  their  government  up  to  that 
time,  and  the  improved  condition  of  the  people.  It 
was  a  calm,  earnest  and  faithful  presentation 
of  the  facts,  and  contained  many  gems  of  thought 
that  have  characterized  in  so  marked  a  degree  all  of 
his  public  speeches.  Take  a  few  of  them: 

"There  has  been  considerable  debate  as  to  whether 
the  Constitution  follows  the  flag.  ~No  matter  how 
diverse  and  conflicting  our  opinions  may  be  on  this 
subject,  there  is  one  opinion  which  we  all  entertain, 
and  that  is,  that  the  American  schoolhouse  follows 
the  flag." 

"I  believe  we  shall  find  in  the  magic  of  the  school 
room  a  potential  influence  working  for  the  advance 
ment  of  civilization,  good  order  and  civil  government 
in  the  Philippines." 

"It  is  a  gratifying  and  reassuring  fact,  indeed,  that 
the  people  are  so  sensitive  of  the  national  honor,  and 
that  they  will  not  sanction  any  supposed  breach  of 
it." 

"The  questions  of  human  rights  and  human  liberty 
are  the  potential  questions  which  have  summoned 
our  mightiest  armies  and  have  assembled  our  fleets 
and  stirred  our  country  to  the  utmost  depths." 

"It  will  indeed  be  a  sad  hour  for  the  Republic 
when  the  President  shall  love  peace  less  than  war." 

"Opposition  to  the  efforts  of  the  Government  to 


FAIEBANKS  165 

assert  its  lawful  authority  has  never  been  regarded 
with  favor.  We  erect  no  monuments  to  commemo 
rate  the  efforts,  no  matter  how  earnestly  and  hon 
estly  they  may  have  been  rendered,  of  those  who  put 
themselves  in  the  pathway  of  national  duty  and  prog 
ress." 

"I  base  my  opinion  upon  the  broad  ground  that 
all  wisdom  and  all  patriotism  will  not  die  with  us, 

and  that  those  who  will  follow  us  and  who  will,  in 

• 

all  probability,  be  obliged  to  deal  with  these  ques 
tions,  will  be  as  enlightened  and  animated  by  as 
exalted  sense  of  justice,  and  be  in  every  respect  as 
sensitive  of  the  national  honor  as  we." 

"There  need  be  no  fear,  no  matter  what  political 
party  may  be  in  power,  for  the  time  being,  that  there 
will  ever  go  upon  the  statute  books  of  the  United 
States  a  solitary  oppressive  act,  or  any  measure 
which  shall  not  be  inspired  by  a  sense  of  the  funda 
mental  principles  of  republican  government." 

"Havana  and  Manila  and  Santiago  and  Buffalo 
tell  of  the  mighty  cost  of  human  liberty ;  they  chasten 
us ;  they  show  how  narrow  is  the  boundary  set  to  our 
finite  vision,  and  how  we  should  address  ourselves 
to  the  duties  of  the  hour  and  courageously  and  hope 
fully  await  the  demands  of  the  future;  they  show 
that  moral  duties  abide  with  nations  as  with  men." 

The  whole  speech  showed  the  careful  study  and 
well-balanced  thought  of  a  statesman,  and  led  the 
debate  back  from  the  morass  of  partyism  to  the  COB- 


1(56  FAIRBANKS 

sideration  of  the  pending  measure.  In  the  consid 
eration  of  all  grave  subjects  before  the  Senate  he 
sank  the  partisan  and  squared  his  actions  by  the  rule, 
"What  is  wisest,  what  is  best  ?"  His  whole  senatorial 
career  will  be  searched  in  vain  for  a  display  of  par 
tisanship. 

Another  one  of  the  great  questions  before  Congress 
in  which  Senator  Fairbanks  took  a  deep  interest  was 
that  of  excluding  Chinese  immigrants.  This  had 
been  an  important  question  for  many  years.  It  had 
been  the  subject  of  treaty  with  the  Chinese  Empire, 
and  several  laws  have  been  enacted  intending  to  limit 
and  control  immigration  from  China.  Before  taking 
part  in  the  debate  of  any  question  Senator  Fairbanks 
always  made  as  thorough  a  study  of  it  as  possible, 
and  he  followed  this  rule  when  the  Chinese  question, 
was  pending.  One  of  the  first  declarations  he  made 
in  his  speech  was :  "The  duty  to  preserve  the  purity 
of  the  currents  which  vitally  affect  the  standard  of 
our  citizenship  is  plain  and  imperative,"  and  it  was 
along  that  broad  line  he  proceeded  in  his  argument 
favoring  the  passage  of  the  pending  bill.  He  dem 
onstrated  that  he  was  thoroughly  informed  as  to  all 
prior  exclusion  legislation  and  the  terms  of  the  exist 
ing  treaties,  and  of  the  effect  of  Chinese  labor  in  this 
country.  Beside  the  details  of  legislation,  and  of 
treaties  the  speech  contained  many  thoughtful  decla 
rations.  Among  other  things  he  said : 

"We  value  our  broad  fields,  our  great  cities.    They 


FAIEBANKS  167 

stimulate  our  pride,  but  above  and  beyond  all  that, 
as  great  and  splendid  as  they  are,  we  value  our  citi 
zenship.  It  is,  indeed,  our  chief  glory.  It  means 
more  to  us,  more  to  our  children  and  to  their  chil 
dren,  more  to  the  future  strength  and  majesty  of  the 
Republic  than  all  of  the  myriad  material  things 
which  surround  us." 

"A  high  order  of  citizenship  is  the  chief  end  and 
aim  of  the  Republic.  We  establish  schools  and  found 
universities  that  they  may  elevate  our  people  to  a 
higher  and  better  and  broader  plane.  We  have  a 
care  for  the  humblest  among  us.  We  want  men  and 
women  who  are  in  love  with  our  institutions,  and 
who  will  support  and  defend  them,  and  transmit 
them  unimpaired  to  posterity." 

"They  [the  Chinese]  do  not  harmonize  with  us. 
Upon  their  admission  they  become  an  undigested  and 
undigestible  mass." 

"In  the  final  analysis,  great  issues  which  engage 
our  attention  from  time  to  time,  in  fact  the  destiny 
of  the  Republic,  are  determined  at  the  American 
fireside.  Abolish  the  American  home  and  the  days 
of  the  Republic  are  numbered." 

The  seven  years  of  service  in  the  Senate  of  Mr. 
Fairbanks  have  been  laborious  years.  His  labors 
were  not  confined  to  preparing  speeches  on  the  im 
portant  questions  that  have  arisen  during  his  service, 
but  much  the  greater  part  has  been  given  to  work 
in  the  committee-room.  His  habits  of  industry 


168  FAIRBANKS 

would  not  permit  him  to  be  idle,  and  his  exalted 
ideas  of  the  duties  he  had  assumed  impelled  him 
to  give  his  time  and  his  labor  to  the  work  before 
him.  There  is  no  record  of  the  committee  labor  he 
performed,  but  his  colleagues  all  bear  willing  testi 
mony  to  his  untiring  industry,  and  it  was  in  the  pre 
cincts  of  the  committee-room  that  he  impressed  his 
colleagues  with  his  really  great  abilities  and  his  con 
scientious  regard  for  the  interests  of  the  people.  To 
any  measure  to  which  he  could  not  give  the  conscien 
tious  approval  of  his  judgment  he  would  not  listen 
or  advocate. 

When  the  great  disaster  overwhelmed  the  unfor 
tunate  people  of  Martinique  Senator  Fairbanks 
promptly  introduced  a  bill  appropriating  $100,000 
for  the  relief  of  the  sufferers.  The  bill  was  speedily 
passed.  For  this  prompt  expression  of  sympathy 
Ambassador  Cambon  sent  the  Senator  the  following 
note  of  appreciation: 

"Ambassade  de  France  aux  Etats-Unis, 

"Washington,  D.  C. 

"My  Dear  Senator — It  was  very  thoughtful  and 
generous  of  you  to  introduce  and  press  for  passage 
through  the  Senate  the  bill  for  the  relief  of  the 
needy  survivors  of  the  Island  of  Martinique.  I  de 
sire  to  thank  you  in  my  own  name  and  those  of  the 
people  whose  distress  you  sought  to  alleviate,  and 
to  say  that  your  action,  which  promises  to  be  of 
incalculable  benefit  to  the  sufferers,  will  remain  al- 


FAIRBANKS  169 

ways  a  subject  of  tender  appreciation  by  the  citizens 
of  the  French  Republic.     Very  sincerely  yours, 

"JULES  CAMBON. 
"May  10,  1902." 

The  Republican  party  had  pledged  itself  to  the 
speedy  construction  of  an  isthmian  canal.  A  bill 
was  introduced  in  Congress  providing  for  the  con 
struction  of  the  canal.  When  it  reached  the  Sen 
ate  Mr.  Fairbanks,  desiring  to  insure  the  speedy 
beginning  of  the  work  and  the  rapid  pushing  of  it 
to  completion,  offered  an  amendment  to  the  bill  pro 
viding  for  the  sale  of  bonds  with  which  to  pay  the 
cost  of  construction.  This  not  only  provided  the 
money  necessary,  but  put  it  beyond  the  power  to 
delay  the  work  for  want  of  an  appropriation  at  any 
time,  and  it  also  put  a  part  of  the  burden  of  con 
struction  on  the  next  generation  that  is  to  receive 
the  greatest  benefit. 

For  years  there  has  been  a  growing  sentiment  in 
favor  of  settling  all  differences  between  nations  by 
international  arbitration.  To  advance  this  move 
ment  a  great  meeting  was  called  by  some  of  the 
leading  citizens  of  this  country  to  be  held  at  Wash 
ington.  The  matter  was  presented  to  the  United 
States  Senate,  and  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Foreign  Relations.  There  it  was  referred  to  a 
subcommittee  consisting  of  Senators  Frye,  of  Maine, 
Fairbanks,  of  Indiana,  and  Senator  Morgan,  of  Ala 
bama,  In  an  interview,  published  in  the  ^ew  York 


170  FAIRBANKS 

Herald,  Senator  Fairbanks  gave  this  expression  of 
his  views : 

"There  is  a  wholesome  and  increasing  desire  for 
some  method  of  adjusting  differences  between  na 
tions  in  some  other  manner  than  by  an  appeal  to 
the  sword.  A  resort  to  force  to  settle  international 
disputes  would  seem  to  be  unnecessary,  yet  that  has 
been  a  too  frequent  means  of  adjustment  for  many 
centuries.  There  has  been  no  hour  scarcely  in  all 
the  history  of  human  experience  when  there  might 
not  be  heard  in  some  quarter  the  harsh  notes  of  war 
between  nations  seeking  to  compose  their  differences. 

"We  are  wont  to  think  that  we  live  in  the  most 
advanced  period  of  human  development,  an  age  when 
men  are  wiser  and  more  just  than  they  have  been. 
Yet  the  flames  of  war  light  up  the  Far  East.  How 
much  blood  will  be  shed  or  how  much  money  wasted 
to  settle  the  questions  which  diplomacy  has  failed 
to  settle  no  finite  wisdom  can  determine. 

"The  question  recurs  as  often  as  we  witness  the 
devastating  effects  of  international  strife.  Can  not 
the  wit  of  man  devise  some  agency  whereby  to  avert 
it  in  whole  or  in  good  part  ?  Can  not  men  reason 
and  solve  grave  questions  in  the  deliberative  cham 
ber  as  well  as  upon  the  battlefield?  Can  not  men 
successfully  discuss  questions  of  international  signifi 
cance  in  the  serene  tribunals  of  peace  as  well  as  upon 
the  decks  of  men-of-war,  with  the  air  filled  with  the 
missiles  of  death  and  destruction  ? 


FAIRBANKS  171 

"The  arbitral  tribunal  affords  a  ready,  fair  and 
honorable  way  of  determining  most  of  the  disputes 
which  arise  between  nations.  It  will  not  be  effica 
cious  in  all  cases,  but  that  it  is  capable  of  settling 
many  and  serious  problems  there  can  be  no  possible 
doubt.  This  agency  may  be  invoked  without  the 
loss  of  national  dignity  or  national  self-respect  in 
adjusting  a  vast  range  of  international  differences. 

"Territorial  disputes  may  in  exceptional  cases  be 
readily  and  properly  arbitrated.  In  comparatively 
recent  years  the  Venezuelan  boundary  was  settled  by 
arbitration  and  in  a  manner  entirely  consistent  with 
the  honor  of  the  parties  concerned.  The  Alaskan 
boundary  was  settled  by  a  tribunal  created .  by  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain.  It  was  not  an  ar 
bitral  tribunal,  but  a  commission  composed  of  six 
jurists,  divided  equally.  There  was  no  independent 
arbitrator,  yet  a  decision  was  reached  in  a  friendly 
way  and  a  cause  of  serious  difference  was  forever 
settled. 

"The  Hague  tribunal  is  a  great  and  important 
step  forward — one  of  the  most  significant  in  recent 
years.  It  is  in-  its  experimental  stages,  yet  it  has 
already  accomplished  enough  to  justify  its  creation. 

"The  strongest  nations  can  well  lead  the  way  in 
promoting  the  principle  of  international  arbitration. 
Their  motives  will  not  be  questioned  and  their  exam 
ple  will  have  a  far-reaching  and  beneficent  influence. 
The  principle  is  essentially  sound.  It  should  re- 


172  FAIRBANKS 

ceive,  as  it  is  receiving,  the  utmost  consideration 
at  the  hands  of  the  statesman  and  student  of  public 
questions,  to  the  end  that  it  may  become  an  acknowl 
edged,  permanent  international  policy.  It  makes  for 
peace;  it  will  become  an  effective  agency  to  avert 
war. 

"The  move  recently  made  in  the  Senate  Committee 
on  Foreign  Relations  looking  to  some  plan  of  inter 
national  arbitration  to  go  a  bit  beyond  The  Hague 
conference  is  the  most  important  step  of  this  char 
acter  ever  taken  in  this  country.  After  waiting  two 
years  the  Senate  Committee  has  at  last  reported  fa 
vorably  the  treaty  for  the  arbitration  of  pecuniary 
claims  among  the  countries  of  the  Western  Hemi 
sphere.  This  also  is  an  important  step  in  the  right 
direction,  and  will  receive  the  support  of  public 
opinion.  Indeed,  public  opinion  in  this  country,  I 
think,  has  stimulated  the  Senate  to  action,  and  while 
it  may  take  time  to  develop  a  practical  scheme  of 
international  arbitration  to  which  all  countries  will 
agree,  a  beginning  has  been  made,  and  it  is  emi 
nently  proper  that  this  country  should  take  the  ini 
tiative." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


MISCELLANEOUS  SPEECHES. 

OENATOK  FAIRBANKS  has  been  a  very  popu- 
^  lar  orator  for  almost  all  kinds  of  occasions.  On 
the  stump,  addressing  the  people  on  the  political  is 
sues  of  the  day,  few  draw  larger  or  more  attentive 
and  appreciative  audiences.  As  has  already  been 
shown,  in  the  Senate  he  always  commanded  the  re 
spectful  and  earnest  attention  of  his  colleagues,  never 
speaking  to  the  galleries.  As  a  speaker  he  is  espe 
cially  popular  at  political  and  social  clubs,  and  the 
invitations  that  come  to  him  from  such  sources  are 
many  times  in  excess  of  the  hours  he  can  give  to 
such  work.  He  has  delivered  several  literary  ad 
dresses  and  spoken  to  graduating  classes  at  colleges. 
The  most  notable  of  these  was  his  address  at  Baker 
University,  Kansas,  in  1901.  It  was  an  eloquent 
presentation  of  the  duties  and  possibilities  that  lay 
before  the  students  who  were  about  to  leave  the  col 
lege  and  enter  on  the  broader  sphere  of  life.  The 
following  passages  are  samples  of  the  whole : 

"Commencement  Day  has  no  fellow.     There  is  no 
other  day  in  all  the  year  like  unto  it.     It  is  full  of 

-173- 


174  FAIRBANKS 

sweetness  and  life,  of  pleasant  reminiscence  and  of 
happy  expectation.  It  is  essentially  the  day  of  youth, 
of  splendid  young  womanhood  and  noble  young  man 
hood.  Our  elders  live  over  the  blessed  days  which 
have  faded  into  the  past,  and  are  themselves  young 
again.  It  is  not  the  day  of  the  pessimist,  but  is  the 
hour  of  the  optimist.  It  is  the  time  when  the  virtues 
which  dignify  and  glorify  humanity  amplest  fruitage 
bear,  and  when  we  behold  the  splendor  of  our  institu 
tions,  not  with  the  eye  of  a  mere  political  partisan, 
nor  with  the  vision  of  a  sordid  materialist." 

"Your  scholastic  course  crowned  the  old  century 
with  its  tremendous  achievements.  In  all  the  cen 
turies  that  are  passed  not  one  was  filled  with  such 
mighty  and  significant  events  in  the  onward  march  of 
humanity.  ~No  such  tremendous  advance  was  before 
made  in  knowledge,  in  the  arts.  Science  seems  to 
have  revealed  the  most  hidden  and  important  secrets 
of  nature.  She  has  scanned  the  heavens  and  fath 
omed  the  seas.  She  has  asserted  dominion  over  the 
enemies  of  man  and  made  them  his  obedient  servants. 
Fire  and  water  and  electricity  have  been  made  to  do 
his  bidding  in  countless  ways.  Time  and  space  have 
been  reduced  in  international  communication  and  the 
world  made  relatively  smaller ;  in  fact,  it  has  been  re 
duced  to  a  vast  neighborhood.  The  zone  of  human 
liberty  has  been  extended  until  about  the  greater  por 
tion  of  the  globe  man  recognizes  no  master  except 
Almighty  God.  The  beams  of  civilization  and  right- 


FAIRBANKS  175 

eousness  are  'cast  afar/1  and  where  they  penetrate 
slavery  and  serfdom  vanish  as  vice  before  virtue." 

"You  will  meet  with  both  encouragement  and  dis 
couragement.  The  way  may  sometimes  look  dark 
and  the  future  unpromising,  but  with  stout  heart,  up 
right  purpose  and  complete  consecration  to  your 
work  you  can  and  should  win  success.  Walk  erect ; 
be  self-reliant.  In  the  final  analysis  your  victories 
must  be  won  through  your  own  strong  right  arm. 
The  way  to  place  and  power  is  open  to  all  alike.  Your 
future  is  to  bo  determined  not  by  the  accident  of 
birth,  not  by  what  your  ancestors  were,  but  by  what 
you  arc,  by  what  you  shall  yourselves  accomplish. 
Stand  fast  for  the  maintenance  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  for  the  preservation  of  these  two  great  funda 
mental  doctrines  for  which  our  forefathers  contended 
with  titanic  power." 

"Promote  civic  righteousness;  do  not  avoid  the 
caucus,  fearing  it  will  contaminate  you,  but  attend  it 
to  the  end  that  it  may  not  contaminate  the  State.  In 
the  ballot-box  our  liberties  are  compounded.  See  to 
it  that  it  gives  true  expression  of  the  public  will.  Pre 
serve  it  from  pollution ;  protect  it  and  defend  it  as 
you  would  preserve  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  for  it 
has  been  purchased  by  the  priceless  blood  of  count 
less  heroes  upon  the  battlefields  of  the  Republic." 

"The  greater  knowledge  the  student  bears  hence, 
the  heavier  his  civic  obligations.  The  splendid  na 
tional  fabric,  the  like  of  which  you  have  not  thus  far 


176  FAIRBANKS 

discovered  in  your  historic  research,  is  the  fruit  of  the 
wisdom  and  patriotism  of  your  fathers,  and  it  must 
not  be  given  over  to  those  who  comprehend  not  its 
full  and  splendid  significance." 

"What  is  the  measure  of  success  in  life  ?  We  re 
gard  that  life  the  most  successful  which  has  done  most 
under  its  particular  environment  for  the  welfare  and 
happiness  of  others.  The  person  who  is  wholly  self- 
centered  is  neither  fit  to  live  nor  to  die,  and  dying 
would,  perhaps,  better  become  him.  The  man  who 
gathers  and  hoards  his  money  merely  that  he  may 
feast  his  covetous  eyes  upon  it  is  of  no  earthly  use 
to  man  or  beast.  The  student  who  does  not  yield  the 
rich  treasure  of  his  mind  for  the  benefit  of  others  is 
of  little  more  worth  to  mankind  than  gold  which  lies 
forever  buried  in  the  lowest  depths  of  earth,  beyond 
the  reach  of  man." 

"We  erect  monuments  to  men  because  they  have 
done  something  in  behalf  of  other  men ;  because  they 
have  rendered  service  to  others.  We  invoke  canvas 
and  marble  and  granite  and  bronze  to  commemorate 
their  unselfish  deeds.  We  pay  no  tribute  to  others." 

"The  immortals  are  those  who  live  beyond  this 
brief  hour,  in  things  accomplished ;  accomplished  for 
others,  and  not  alone  for  self.  Neither  greed  nor 
vanity  has  fellowship  with  immortality." 

"Carry  into  every  act  a  conscience.  Win,  i£  you 
may,  the  approval  of  your  f ellowmen,  but  above  and 
beyond  all,  win  the  approval  of  your  own  conscience. 


FAIRBANKS  177 

Royalty  can  confer  no  decoration  which  will  yield 
such  enduring  joy  as  the  approval  of  one's  own  con 
science.  Neither  place  nor  power  nor  the  world's  ap 
plause  can  bring  the  measure  of  satisfaction,  the  in 
expressible  ecstacy,  which  comes  from  the  approval 
of  that  imperious  censor,  our  own  conscience.  With 
its  approval  we  can  dare  all,  suffer  all,  do  all." 

One  of  the  happiest  of  the  miscellaneous  addresses 
of  Senator  Fairbanks  is  the  one  he  delivered  at  the 
German  Day  celebration  in  Indianapolis  in  1899.  It 
was  a  great  occasion  for  the  Senator,  for  it  gave  him 
the  opportunity  to  teach  patriotism  and  love  of  coun 
try,  lie  is  never  so  happy  as  when  inculcating  good 
citizenship.  A  large  part  of  the  citizenship  of  Indi 
ana  is  made  up  of  persons  of  foreign  birth  or  foreign 
parentage,  and  much  of  the  greatness  and  prosperity 
of  the  commonwealth  is  due  to  that  class  of  her  popu 
lation.  It  was  a  great  audience  that  gathered  on  the 
3d  of  September,  1899,  to  hear  the  Senator. 

"This  is  indeed  a  fit  occasion,"  he  said,  "upon 
which  to  acknowledge  the  supremacy  of  American 
institutions  and  proclaim  anew  our  undying  pride 
and  glory  in  American  citizenship.  Great  and 
splendid  it  is  to  be  a  German  citizen,  but  greater  and 
still  more  splendid  it  is  to  be  an  American  citizen. 
No  matter  whether  you  are  from  Germany  or  from 
Ireland  or  from  England  or  from  France;  no  matter 
from  what  country  you  may  come,  your  proudest 
boast  is  that  you  are  an  American  citizen,  and  that 


178  FAIEBANKS 

you  are  enamored  of  the  institutions  of  the  great 
Republic." 

"America!  The  sublimest  word  in  the  human 
tongue !  What  limitless  opportunities  are  here.  The 
way  to  place  and  power  is  alike  open  to  the  lowest 
and  highest;  to  native  and  foreign-born  alike." 

"The  Germans  are  found  in  every  avenue  of  use 
fulness,  doing  their  full  duty  as  loyal  American  citi 
zens.  They  have  taken  a  conspicuous  place  at  the 
bar ;  they  preside  in  our  courts  of  justice ;  they  partic 
ipate  in  politics;  they  have  contributed  some  of  the 
foremost  statesmen  in  the  history  of  the  Government ; 
they  fill  chairs  in  our  great  universities ;  they  occupy 
the  pulpit;  they  have  increased  the  power  of  the 
press ;  they  have  added  to  our  literature ;  they  have 
helped  to  fell  the  forest  and  reclaim  the  waste  places ; 
they  have  been  upon  the  frontier  line  of  civilization, 
and,  in  brief,  they  are  found  in  every  branch  of  in 
tellectual  and  commercial  activity.  Whenever  the 
call  to  arms  has  come,  they  have  marched  down  to 
the  battlefields  of  the  Republic  and  shown  the  world 
how  patriots  can  do  and  die." 

"I  have  no  sort  of  sympathy  with  those  who,  for 
some  occult  reason  are  attempting  to  foment  discord 
between  the  United  States  and  the  German  Empire. 
There  is  no  reason  why  these  two  great  nations  should 
not  continue  to  exist  upon  terms  of  amity.  We  should 
cultivate  friendly  relations  not  only  with  Germany, 
but  writh  all  the  other  great  powers  of  the  earth.  We 


FAIRBANKS  179 

can  never  forget — at  least  we  never  should  forget — 
that  Frederick  the  Great  was  the  first  to  recognize  the 
birth  of  the  Republic  out  of  the  throes  of  the  Revolu 
tion  ;  and  that  during  the  great  civil  war  we  had  little 
to  encourage  us  among  many  of  the  European 
powers,  but  Germany  never  ceased  to  manifest  her 
belief  in  the  eternal  justice  and  her  faith  in  the  ulti 
mate  triumph  of  our  cause." 

"The  Germans  are  usually  found  on  the  side  of 
good  government.  They  carry  into  the  service  of  the 
State  the  same  wholesome,  practical  ideas  of  economy 
and  loyalty  to  trust  which  they  practice  in  their  do 
mestic  affairs.  They  hold  public  officials  to  a  high 
accountability,  and  this  is  well.  Official  place  is  a 
trust  of  the  highest  moment,  and  should  be  executed 
not  for  the  exploitation  of  personal  selfish  ends,  or 
for  personal  aggrandizement,  but  for  the  advance 
ment  and  promotion  of  the  interests  of  the  entire 
body  politic,  and  for  the  glory  of  the  State.  Breach 
of  public  trust  should  rank  among  the  unpardonable 
sins.  An  official  who  will  win  the  public  confidence 
and  basely  betray  it  is  unworthy  to  enjoy  the  price 
less  boon  of  American  citizenship,  and  should  be 
whipped  out  of  place  and  power." 

One  of  the  strong  traits  of  Senator  Fairbanks' 
character  is  his  unselfish  and  clear  estimate  of  others 
who  are  or  have  been  prominent  in  the  Government. 
He  possesses  a  power  of  selecting  the  strong  points 
in  the  character  of  others,  whether  they  are  political 


180  FAIRBANKS 

friends  or  enemies.  The  late  Senator  Morton,  the 
great  war  Governor  of  Indiana,  died  when  Mr.  Fair 
banks  had  been  a  resident  of  Indianapolis  less  than 
three  years.  In  March,  1900,  the  State  presented  to1 
Congress  a  statne  of  the  great  Senator  and  Governor, 
to  occupy  a  place  in  Statuary  Hall.  Senator  Fair 
banks,  as  senior  Senator,  delivered  an  address,  in 
which  he  drew  a  picture  of  Mr.  Morton  that  was  a 
just  and  true  estimate  of  his  character  and  abilities. 
He  said: 

"Oliver  Perry  Morton  was  one  of  the  commanding 
figures  of  the  United  States  during  the  most  heroic 
period  of  her  history.  He  impressed  himself  upon 
his  State  and  the  Nation  by  the  force  of  his  command 
ing  genius,  and  the  history  of  neither  State  nor  Na 
tion  would  be  complete  without  the  story  of  his  life 
and  work." 

"The  records  of  the  Senate  bear  the  amplest  testi 
mony  to  the  extent  and  merit  of  his  work.  He  was 
neither  a  trimmer  nor  a  time-server,  and  neither 
avoided  nor  evaded  issues.  No  matter  what  the  issue, 
he  met  it  courageously,  fearlessly.  During  his  serv 
ice  in  the  Senate  he  participated  in  all  the  most  im 
portant  debates  which  engaged  its  attention.  He  was 
an  aggressive  and  zealous  advocate  of  the  policy  of 
reconstruction." 

"He  was  a  total  stranger  in  the  arts  of  the  dema 
gogue.  He  was  too  great  to  descend  to  intrigue  or 
to  desire  success  otherwise  than  through  the  merit 


FAIRBANKS  181 

and  force  of  his  cause.  He  was  frequently  the  object 
of  the  envy  and  the  intrigue  of  men ;  but  all  efforts 
to  strike  him  down  were  futile,  and  his  character  was 
rendered  the  more  luminous  by  the  harmless  attempts 
to  destroy  it.  No  dishonorable  act  detracts  from  his 
fame.  His  hands  were  clean,  his  integrity  incorrupt 
ible.  He  was  a  bold  -  but  chivalrous  political  an 
tagonist,  for  his  sense  of  honor  was  acute." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


Mil.  FAIRBANKS  AND  ORGANIZED  LABOR. 

O  EXATOK  FAIRBANKS  is  and  always  has  been 
^  a  friend  of  labor  and  an  advocate  of  their  just 
rights.  lie  was  born  to  a  life  of  toil.  At  a  very 
early  age  he  did  almost  a  man's  work  on  the  farm 
of  his  father.  It  has  been  said  that  "all  work  and 
no  play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy."  Whether  that  is 
sometimes  true  or  not,  it  came  very  near  being  all 
work  with  Mr.  Fairbanks  in  his  boyhood  days. 
While  attending  college  he  worked  with  his  hands 
to  aid  in  obtaining  the  means  with  which  to  pay  his 
weekly  bills.  He  knows  by  hard  experience  what  it 
is  to  toil,  and  from  the  very  first  his  heart  and  his 
feelings  have  ever  gone  out  to  those  who  are  com 
pelled  to  work  for  their  daily  bread. 

In  his  boyhood  days  the  labor  question  did  not 
attract  much  attention,  but  as  he  grew  older  and 
the  question  became  one  of  more  vital  importance 
he  was  always  found  advocating  the  cause  of  the 
workingman.  In  the  Senate  he  wras  the  representa 
tive  and  champion  of  the  Cigarmakers'  Union,  and 
in  a  number  of  his  speeches  on  questions  before  the 

-182— 


FAIKBANKS  183 

Senate  he  spoke  in  the  warmest  terms  to  advance  the 
cause  of  labor.  He  was  Chairman  of  the  Senate 
Committee  on  Immigration,  and  as  such  chairman 
reported  a  bill  very  largely  restricting  the  admission 
of  immigrants.  He  supported  the  bill  because  it 
was  in  the  interest  of  labor.  In  fact,  this  was  one 
of  the  inducements  for  the  introduction  of  the  bill. 
In  speaking  of  the  effects  of  the  admission  of  pauper 
labor  from  Europe,  he  gave  utterance  to  a  sentence 
that  is  a  keynote  to  his  character.  He  said:  "A 
low  wage  scale  is  not  consistent  with  the  most  whole 
some  development  of  the  country  and  its  people." 
He  said  the  bill  "connects  itself  intimately  and  in 
separably  with  the  labor  question." 

In  a  speech  he  delivered  at  Pittsburg  he  said : 
"Without  harmony  between  labor  and  capital  there 
can  be  no  real  enduring  prosperity  and  progress.  It 
should  be  always  remembered  that  each  lias  rights 
which  the  other  should  respect,  and  that  they  should 
dwell  together  in  amity.  We  should  seek  to  incul 
cate  a  sense  of  justice  among  men,  so  that  capital 
shall  deal  fairly  with  labor,  and  labor  deal  with 
equal  fairness  with  capital." 

He  often  referred  to  labor  as  one  of  the  mighty 
pillars  on  which  rests  our  social  and  political  fabric. 
Whenever  discussing  the  question  of  sound  money 
he  always  argued  that  a  debased  currency  was  a 
wrong  committed  against  labor.  He  was  invited  to 
address  the  workingmen  of  Kansas  City  011  Labor 


184  FAIRBANKS 

Day,  1902,  and  his  address  was  a  calm,  dignified, 
yet  earnest  exposition  of  the  question  of  labor. 
Among  other  things  he  said : 

"It  is  a  fitting  time  to  teach  our  children  that 
labor  is  honorable,  and  that  only  through  it  can  we 
possibly  hope  to  achieve  the  beneficent  ends  for  which 
society  is  established  or  government  founded.  So 
long  as  labor  is  deemed  honorable  there  need  be  no 
concern  as  to  the  future.  There  is  peril  only  when 
labor  is  regarded  as  degrading.  We  are  essentially 
a  nation  of  laborers,  and  we  have  no  hospitality  for 
human  drones.  Indeed,  the  Nation  is  the  rich  fruit 
of  labor,  for  our  ancestors — noble  and  splendid  men 
and  women  they  were — with  their  strong  right  arms 
carved  out  of  the  wilderness  this  great  Republic. 
They  felled  the  forests,  founded  mighty  cities, 
spanned  rivers  and  knitted  together  all  sections  of 
the  country  with  vast  highways  of  commerce  and 
the  telegraph.  They  have  reclaimed  the  waste  places, 
and  on  every  hand  have  taught  the  necessity  and 
the  true  virtue  and  dignity  of  labor." 

"We  are  so  bound  together  as  a  people  that  we 
are  necessarily  concerned  in  each  other's  welfare. 
Whatever  adversely  affects  any  considerable  number 
of  our  population  adversely  affects,  in  a  measure,  all 
others,  and,  conversely,  what  benefits  any  considera 
ble  number  necessarily  benefits,  in  some  degree,  all 
others.  There  is  no  such  thing  as  complete  and  abso 
lute  independence,  and  it  is  well  that  it  is  so.  Our 


FAIKBANKS  185 

interests  are  so  interlaced  in  the  loom  of  the  Al 
mighty  that  we  can  not  live  apart  if  we  would,  and 
we  would  not  if  we  could." 

"Labor  organizations  have  their  origin  in  the  in 
stinct  of  self-preservation,  of  mutual  advancement, 
of  common  good,  and  are  as  natural  and  legitimate 
as  the  organization  of  capital.  In  fact,  the  organi 
zations  of  labor  and  capital  go  hand  in  hand.  The 
one  is  essentially  the  complement  of  the  other.'7 

"That  labor  organizations  have  done  much  to  ad 
vance  the  cause  of  labor  there  can  be  no  doubt.  They 
have  been  earnest  advocates  of  education,  knowing 
full  well  that  knowledge  is  real  power.  They  have 
established  newspapers  throughout  the  country,  in 
telligently  devoted  to  the  promotion  of  their  inter 
ests.  They  have  founded  benevolences  and  paid  mil 
lions  of  dollars  to  their  membership.  They  have  in 
creased  wages  where  inadequate,  and  secured  reason 
able  hours  of  service.  They  have  abolished  or  mod 
ified  conditions  in  the  sweat-shops  of  great  cities 
which  were  undermining  the  health  and  morals  bf 
the  operatives.  They  have  stood  against  the  abuses 
of  child  labor.  They  have  taught  the  necessity  of 
the  observance  of  contracts,  knowing  full  well  that 
contracts  are  founded  in  honor  and  are  the  basis 
of  commercial  success.  They  have  increased  and 
seek  to  maintain  a  higher  morale  among  their  mem 
bership.  They  are  opposed  to  anarchy.  Anarchy 
has  no  greater  foe  than  they.  They  know  that  labor's 


186  FAIRBANKS 

best  interests  are  dependent  upon  the  maintenance 
of  orderly  and  stable  government." 

"Labor  must  be  free;  with  all  the  prerogatives 
which  pertain  to  freedom.  It  must  be  free  to  sell 
its  commodity  in  the  highest  market.  So  capital 
must  be  likewise  free  to  buy  labor  where  labor  desires 
to  sell  its  commodity.  There  must  bo  reciprocity 
of  privilege,  reciprocity  of  opportunity." 

"The  true  solution  of  the  questions  arising  be 
tween  labor  and  capital  lies  in  an  awakened  public 
conscience ;  in-  a  thorough  inculcation  of  the  princi 
ples  of  fair  dealing  among  men ;  in  organization,  and 
in  wise,  humane  leadership,  and  in  the  establishment 
of  boards  of  conciliation  or  arbitration  which  are 
absolutely  free  from  the  polluting  touch  of  selfish 
interests  or  political  demagogues,  to  which  the  inter 
ests  concerned  may  freely  and  confidently  appeal." 

"Cheap  labor  is  not  the  sole  end  we  seek  in  the 
United  States.  It  is  our  pride  that  this  is  not  a 
cheap-labor  country;  that  labor  is  better  paid  here 
than  in  any  other  country.  The  sentiment  is  pro 
claimed  over  and  over  from  platform  and  press. 
Cheap  labor  ?  "No.  We  do  not  want  cheap  labor. 
We  want  well-paid  labor.  We  desire  not  only  well- 
paid  labor,  but  want  that  labor  steadily  employed." 

There  is  no  class  of  people  in  the  United  States 
more  deeply  interested  in  knowing  the  sentiments 
and  views  of  those  who  seek  their  suffrages  than  the 
laboring  class.  On  all  matters  concerning  labor  Mr, 


FAIRBANKS  187 

Fairbanks  lias  always  been  open,  frank  and  clear  in 
his  statements.  He  has  neither  sought  to  equivocate 
nor  mislead.  To  organized  labor  he  has  said  that 
organization  was  legitimate,  was  right,  was  necessary, 
but  he  said  that  labor,  organized  or  unorganized, 
must  respect  the  rights  of  others.  A  weaker  man 
would  have  left  unsaid  some  things  that  Mr.  Fair 
banks  so  frankly  uttered,  but  Mr.  Fairbanks  pre 
ferred  the  more  honorable  way  of  frankly  telling 
all  his  views.  It  would  be  well  if  every  workingman 
in  the  United  States  would  read  and  ponder  the 
frank  and  manly  speech  delivered  at  Kansas  City. 

It  has  already  been  said  that  Senator  Fairbanks 
is  a  very  popular  speaker  on  occasions  that  are  non- 
political,  and  on  every  such  occasion  has  won  new 
laurels  for  the  breadth  of  his  views  and  the  lessons 
of  patriotism,  good  citizenship,  obedience  to  law  and 
order  he  has  inculcated. 

In  New  Jersey  he  was  the  orator  on  the  celebration 
of  the  one  hundred  and  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of 
the  battle  of  Monmouth;  at  Lancaster,  Massachu 
setts,  he  spoke  on  the  celebration  of  the  two  hundred 
and  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  founding  of  that 
town ;  in  Minnesota  he  addressed  the  assembled  thou 
sands  at  the  State  Fair.  He  has  spoken  on  numerous 
other  like  occasions,  and  always  with  the  approbation 
of  his  audience. 


CHAPTER  XV. 


HIS  HOME  LIFE. 

HTMIE  home  life  of  Senator  Fairbanks  has  been 
-*-  ideal.  Married  in  oarly  life  to  one  who  had 
won  his  affections  when  he  was  still  a  student  at  col 
lege,  he  has  found  in  the  wife  of  his  bosom  one  who 
has  shared  in  all  his  struggles,  his  aspirations,  his 
successes,  and  joyed  in  them.  She  has  made  his  home 
happy,  because  she  has  made  it  a  home  in  very  truth. 
They  had  a  very  modest  beginning.  Mr.  Fairbanks 
was  poor  in  money  wealth,  but  rich  in  the  determina 
tion  of  purpose  to  make  and  hold  a  place  in  life,  and 
in  integrity  and  honesty  of  character.  Furnished  by 
love  and  equipped  by  high  purpose,  their  home  could 
not  have  been  anything  else  than  a  happy  one. 

Engaged  during  the  hours  of  the  day  in  a  struggle 
for  an  established  place  in  his  chosen  profession,  the 
young  husband  always  gladly  turned  his  steps  toward 
his  home  when  evening  came,  sure  that  there  he 
would  find  sympathy,  encouragement  and  strength 
for  the  next  day's  conflict.  Both  are  by  nature  do 
mestic  in  their  inclinations,  yet  they  are  fond  of  en 
tertaining  their  friends,  and  each  is  possessed  with  a 

-188- 


FAIRBANKS  189 

happy  faculty  for  making  friends.  When  economy 
and  saving  were  necessary,  Mrs.  Fairbanks  willingly 
and  cheerfully  saved  and  economized,  but  when  the 
future  Senator's  practice  had  increased  sufficiently 
to  warrant  it  they  moved  into  a  larger  and  more  lux 
uriously  furnished  house,  but  there  was  no  ostenta 
tion  ;'  it  was  still  all  simple,  all  home-like. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fairbanks  have  been  not  only 
husband  and  wife,  but  they  have  been  partners,  in 
the  fullest  and  most  complete  sense  of  the  term.  The 
genial,  kindly  nature  of  Mr.  Fairbanks  won  friends, 
and  the  kindly,  genial  nature  of  the  wife  fastened 
them  by  new  and  additional  ties.  It  can  be  said  that 
the  circle  of  personal  friends  of  the  Senator  is  as 
wide  as  his  circle  of  acquaintance,  and  none  who  has 
ever  visited  his  home  has  failed  to  receive  a  welcome 
from  Mrs.  Fairbanks  that  made  them  long  to  repeat 
the  visit. 

Five  children,  one  daughter  and  four  sons,  have 
been  born  to  them.  When  just  beginning  active  life 
Mr.  Fairbanks  declared  he  would  not  enter  into 
politics  until  he  had  won  an  established  place  in  his 
profession  and  accumulated  enough  to  educate  and 
care  for  his  children.  Blessed  by  a  kind  Providence, 
and  through  his  untiring  energy,  he  was  able  to  thus 
accumulate,  and  has  given  to  each  of  his  children  a 
collegiate  course,  except  the  youngest,  and  he  is  now 
preparing  to  enter  college.  The  two  elder  children 
were  graduated  from  the  college  which  their  parents 

(13) 


190  FAIRBANKS 

had  attended.  This  alma  mater  is  very  dear  to  the 
heart  of  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fairbanks.  The  Senator 
has  long  been  a  member  of  its  Board  of  Trustees, 
and  he  has  several  times  given  liberally  to  its  endow 
ment.  The  Senator  has  no  warmer  or  more  enthusi 
astic  friends  anywhere  than  he  has  in  the  halls  of 
the  old  Ohio  Wesleyan  University,  and  the  students 
and  faculty  are  alike  proud  of  his  success  and  of  the 
high  station  he  has  reached. 

The  Senator  and  his  wife  are  both  members  of 
Meridian  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  at  In 
dianapolis,  and  are  consistent  and  earnest  Christians. 
Their  Christianity  is  shown  in  kindly  words  spoken 
or  deeds  done.  "Do  unto  others  as  you  would  have 
others  do  unto  you,"  and  aLove  your  neighbor  as 
yourself"  have  been  the  rules  by  which  they  have 
guided  and  shaped  their  lives  and  their  relations 
with  others. 

They  both  enjoy  social  life,  and  the  charming  man 
ners  of  Mrs.  Fairbanks  peculiarly  fit  her  for  a  social 
leader.  In  their  home  life,  in  their  social  life,  in 
their  church  life  they  have  never  been  ostentatious, 
but  always  simple,  kindly  and  earnest.  One  has  been 
the  complement  of  the  other. 

Senator  Fairbanks  is  by  nature  kindly.  In  him 
malice  or  envy  or  enmity  never  had  a  place.  He 
has  a  friendly  word  and  greeting  for  every  one  he 
meets,  and  business  or  public  cares  never  press  on 
him  so  heavily  or  so  closely  occupy  his  thoughts  as 


FAIRBANKS  191 

to  prevent  him  stopping  long  enough  to  give  a  grasp 
of  the  hand  and  a  pleasant  word  to  his  friends.  Some 
years  ago,  before  he  entered  upon  a  political  life,  he 
said  to  a  friend  that  when  he  was  a  boy  he  made 
it  a  rule  of  his  life  to  make  as  many  friends  as  possi 
ble,  and  to  avoid  making  an  enemy  if  it  were  possi 
ble,  and  he  has  followed  that  rule.  In  his  own  State 
he  has  always  been  on  terms  of  ardent  personal 
friendship  with  the  leaders  of  the  party  opposed  to 
him.  He  counted  such  men  as  the  late  Vice-Presi- 
dent  Hendricks  and  the  late  Joseph  E.  McDonald 
as  among  his  warm  personal  friends,  and  in  the 
Senate  he  has  no  enemies  among  the  Democratic 
members. 

His  genial  and  kindly  nature  is  a  part  of  him. 
His  charities — and  they  are  numerous — are,  like  all 
his  other  acts,  done  without  ostentation  or  display. 
He  is  not  a  rich  man,  as  riches  are  counted  in  these 
money-making  days,  but  he  has  been  successful 
enough  in  his  law  practice  to  accumulate  a  modest 
fortune.  He  lives  a  home  life,  and  is  most  delighted 
and  happy  when  he  is  in  his  home,  surrounded  by 
his  wife  and  children. 

His  characteristics  are  frankness,  sincerity,  friend 
liness  and  seriousness.  He  is  frank  and  open  in  all 
his  dealings ;  frank  in  his  friendships,  and  when  en 
gaged  in  the  practice  of  the  law  he  always  dealt 
frankly  with  the  court  and  jury.  In  all  his  discus 
sions  before  the  public,  whether  it  is  of  the  political 


192  FAIKBANKS 

issues  before  the  people  or  one  of  the  great  questions 
arising  in  the  Congress,  he  is  frank  in  his  statements 
of  his  own  views  and  of  the  views  of  those  who  oppose 
him.  He  never  misstates  a  proposition  or  garbles  the 
words  of  another. 

~No  one  ever  doubts  his  sincerity.  He  gives  no 
occasion  for  doubts  of  that  kind.  He  is  never  dog 
matic  as  to  the  correctness  of  his  own  views,  but 
every  one  accords  him  the  meed  of  perfect  sincerity 
in  presenting  them  and  in  believing  in  them.  His 
evident  sincerity  impresses  every  one  who  listens  to 
him,  and  it  is  one  of  his  marked  characteristics. 

He  deals  with  all  matters  of  life,  private  or  public, 
seriously.  With  him  there  are  no  trifling  things  in 
life.  Every  question  that  calls  for  his  attention  is 
given  the  most  serious  consideration.  In  his  public 
career  he  has  many  calls  for  endorsements  of  indi 
viduals  for  office.  He  never  gives  such  endorsements 
lightly.  The  public  service,  to  him,  is  a  matter  of 
great  moment.  He  believes  that  the  people  of  Amer 
ica  are  entitled  to  the  best  public  servants  that  can 
be  obtained  and  entitled  to  the  best  work  such  serv 
ants  can  give,  hence  he  is  never  found  urging  the 
appointment  of  unfit  men  for  office.  He  takes  a  like 
serious  view  of  party  politics.  *  Party  organizations 
are  the  great  methods  by  which  the  people  express 
their  views  on  public  affairs,  and  the  issues  before 
them  affect  the  welfare  of  the  people  and  the  Gov 
ernment  for  good  or  for  bad,  hence  they  are  serious 


FAIEBANKS  193 

questions.  He  deals  with  them  as  serious  questions, 
ever  using  all  his  influence  to  elevate  partisanship 
and  party  methods.  He  stands  for  the  highest  type 
of  purity  at  the  ballot  box,  purity  in  all  the  relations 
between  parties  and  the  people.  He  is  a  foe  to  decep 
tions,  either  in  platforms  or  in  discussions  of  political 
questions.  He  has  often  said  he  would  rather  go 
down  to  political  defeat  than  to  win  a  victory  that 
was  in  the  least  degree  tainted  by  trickery,  fraud, 
corruption  or  deception,  and  he  says  this  so  earnestly 
and  carries  it  out  so  completely  in  all  his  actions 
that  those  who  know  him  know  he  is  sincere. 

Senator  Fairbanks  has  never  been  a  "trimmer." 
It  is  not  in  his  nature.  '  There  have  been  times  in 
his  political  and  public  career  when  a  weaker  man 
would  have  trimmed  his  sails  to  the  popular  breeze, 
but  Mr.  Fairbanks  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  popular 
clamor  and  did  what  he  believed  was  right.  His  sen 
atorial  career  furnished  two  notable  examples  of  this. 
When  Mr.  McKinley  assumed  the  reins  of  govern 
ment  the  country  was  stirred  to  its  depths  over  the 
wrongs  in  Cuba,  and  from  every  section  came  an 
almost  imperative  demand  for  the  recognition  of 
the  Cuban  independents,  even  though  it  would  in 
volve  a  war  with  Spain.  This  feeling  was  very  strong 
in  Indiana,  his  own  State,  and  his  personal  and  polit 
ical  friends  urged  him  to  unite  with  the  extreme  wing 
in  Congress.  ,  To  have  done  so  would  have  rendered 
him  extremely  popular,  but  he  preferred  to  stand  for 


194  FAIRBANKS 

the  exhaustion  of  every  peaceable  means  to  avoid  war. 

The  other  occasion  referred  to  was  when  the  ques 
tion  of  providing  a  revenue  for  Porto  Rico  was  under 
consideration.  The  cry  that  "the  Constitution  fol 
lows  the  flag,"  swept  over  the  country.  It  was  heard 
on  almost  every  tongue.  Once  more  his  friends  be 
sought  him  to  take  what  was  so  evidently  the  popular 
side.  He  was  candidly  told  that  if  he  took  the  other 
side  of  that  question  it  would  ruin  him  politically. 
Firm  in  his  convictions  of  what  was  right  and  best, 
he  refused  to  trim  his  sails  to  the  popular  breeze. 
He  not  only  took  a  stand  in  opposition  to  the  advice 
of  his  friends,  but  he  made  one  of  his  boldest  and 
ablest  speeches  in  favor  of  the  views  he  had  espoused. 

When  in  1896  he  was  just  entering  on  a  wider 
political  life  than  he  had  hitherto  occupied  there  was 
an  opportunity  the  political  trimmer  or  wabbler 
would  have  delighted  in.  The  whole  country  seemed 
to  be  inoculated  with  the  virus  of  financial  heresy. 
In  Indiana  free  silver  was  not  only  the  popular  issue 
with  the  Democrats,  but  it  had  invaded  the  Repub 
lican  ranks  and  counted  thousands  of  supporters  in 
that  party.  Mr.  Fairbanks  was  then  a  candidate  for 
the  United  States  Senate.  To  most  of  the  leaders  in 
Indiana  it  looked  like  political  suicide  to  declare 
openly  against  free  silver.  To  Mr.  Fairbanks  was 
assigned  the  duty  of  drafting  the  financial  plank  for 
the  State  platform.  He  could  have  evaded  it,  and 
would  have  evaded  it  had  he  been  a  weaker  man.  He 


FAIKBANKS  195 

prepared  a  plank  not  only  strenuously  opposing  free 
silver,  but  practically  declaring  in  favor  of  a  gold 
standard.  He  was  urged  again  and  again  by  the 
party  leaders  and  by  those  who  expected  to  have 
places  on  the  ticket  not  to  push  it,  but  he  clung  to  his 
work,  and  it  was  finally  adopted  by  the  convention. 
This  was  one  of  the  first  declarations  of  the  Repub 
lican  party  in  favor  of  the  gold  standard. 

What  Senator  Fairbanks  said  of  the  late  Judge 
Gresham  and  of  the  late  Senator  Morton  can  well  be 
applied  to  himself.  Of  Senator  Morton  he  said: 

"He  was  a  total  stranger  to  the  arts  of  the  dem 
agogue.  He  was  too  great  to  descend  to  intrigue  or 
to  desire  success  otherwise  than  through  the  merit 
and  force  of  his  cause.  .  .  .  His  hands  were 
clean,  his  integrity  incorruptible." 

Of  Judge  Gresham  he  said: 

"He  was  a  man  of  positive  character.  He  was  not 
negative  and  colorless.  He  possessed  convictions 
and  adhered  to  them  with  resolution.  He  was  not, 
however,  a  dogmatist,  but  was  always  ready  to  hear 
whatever  might  be  urged  against  the  integrity  of  his 
own  views.  .  .  .  He  was  always  natural ;  never 
sought  or  pretended  to  be  what  God  had  not  made 
him.  He  never  tried  to  veneer  his  true  character 
or  obscure  it  by  cheap  meretricious  acts.7' 

Senator  Fairbanks  has  always  had  a  high  standard 
of  duty  and  of  life.  He  would  no  more  falter  in 
the  face  of  duty  than  a  soldier  would  falter  and  hang 


196  FAIEBANKS 

back  in  the  face  of  the  enemy  on  the  battlefield.  All 
his  acts  and  all  his  speeches  show  this. 

He  is  averse  to  political  wrangles  and  never  in 
vites  them.  In  this  he  is  unlike  both  Elaine  and 
Morton.  As  Ingersoll  said,  Elaine  was  like  a  war 
rior,  "a  plumed  knight/7  and  he  always  went  into 
a  political  battle  with  eagerness.  Morton  delighted 
in  a  political  contest,  for  there  the  sledge-hammer 
blows  of  his  logic  caused  victims  to  fall  all  around 
him.  On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Fairbanks  prefers  to 
put  party  wrangling  aside,  if  possible,  when  it  comes 
to  discussing  questions  of  state^or  matters  pertaining 
to  the  welfare  of  the  people. 

He  is  a  lover  of  books.  Ey  nature  and  training 
he  is  a  student,  but  he  reads  much  of  the  literature 
of  the  day. 

In  his  speeches  he  appeals  to  the  reason  and  not 
to  the  emotions  or  sentiments  of  his  hearers.  He  is 
never  ornate,  never  indulges  in  flowers  of  rhetoric, 
never  in  metaphors,  figures  of  speech,  nor  startling 
similes.  He  never  culls  from  the  classics  and  never 
jests.  No  anecdotes  or  stories  are  found  in  any  of 
his  public  speeches.  He  is  never  vehement  in  decla 
mation  or  gesticulation.  He  never  gets  on  the  moun 
tain  top.  With  him  any  question  that  is  worthy  of 
being  debated  is  worthy  of  being  ^treated  seriously. 

He  is  candid  and  open  in  the  statement  of  his 
position,  and  there  is  no  equivocation  or  evasion.  He 
makes  his  statements  clearly  and  every  one  can  readi- 


FAIKBANKS  197 

ly  know  the  position  he  takes.  He  indulges  in  no 
waste  of  words,  and  never  says  anything  that  has 
to  be  explained,  apologized  for  or  withdrawn.  He 
is  never  bitter,  never  vindictive.  No  irony  or  sar 
casm  is  to  be  found  in  his  speeches,  and  he  never 
utters  a  word  that  would  wound  an  opponent.  He 
credits  those  who  hold  views  in  opposition  to  his 
own  with  honesty  and  integrity  of  purpose,  and  he 
respects  their  views.  He  addresses  the  Senate  as  he 
would  address  the  court,  reinforcing  his  argument 
with  authorities  and  the  opinions  of  others.  He  tries 
to  convince,  not  to  captivate. 

He  is  never  a  pessimist,  but  always  optimistic,  es 
pecially  when  talking  of  the  future  greatness  and 
power  of  the  United  States.  He  would  never  have 
advocated  the  seizure  of  Porto  Rico  or  the  Philip 
pines  merely  to  extend  territory,  but  when  those 
islands  fell  to  us  as  the  result  of  a  war  he  was  opti 
mistic  enough  to  believe  there  was  no  danger  to 
either  the  institutions  or  the  power  of  the  country 
in  our  holding  them.  He  could  not  see  ruin  to  us 
in  raising  our  flag  in  the  Pacific. 

He  rose  rapidly  in  the  confidence  and  respect  of 
his  party.  He  became  a  factor  in  national  politics  in 
1896.  So  greatly  had  he  grown  in  public  confidence 
by  1901  that  leaders  of  his  party  in  various  sections 
of  the  country  began  to  talk  of  him  as  a  logical  and 
fitting  successor  to  President  McKinley.  He  was 
frequently  referred  to  in  the  public  press  as' one  who 


198  FAIKBANKS 

would,  in  all  probability,  be  selected.  When  Mr. 
Roosevelt  succeeded  on  the  death  of  the  President, 
it  was  natural  the  party  should  look  to  him  to  be  his 
own  successor.  Then  it  was  the  selection  of  a  can 
didate  for  the  second  place  presented  itself  to  the 
party,  and  the  name  of  Mr.  Fairbanks  was  on  almost 
every  tongue.  He  was  deluged  with  letters  urging 
him  to  become  a  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency. 
Mr.  Fairbanks  is  strong  before  the  people  because 
of  his  honesty  and  integrity  in  public  and  in  private 
life;  because  of  his  entire  consecration  to  duty;  be 
cause  of  his  absolute  and  implicit  belief  in  the  sound 
judgment  of  the  people,  the  final  and  sole  arbiters 
in  all  questions  affecting  the  government.  He  be 
lieves  that  the  people,  in  the  end,  will  see  the  right 
and  approve  it ;  that  loyalty  to  the  best  interests  of 
the  Nation  is  inherent  in  the  people;  that  this  is  a 
Republic,  a  Republic  of  the  people,  and  that  when 
the  people  have  thoroughly  considered  any  question 
of  policy  and  given  their  verdict  thereon,  their  judg 
ment  should  be  carried  out  to  the  end.  He  knows 
that  if  he  does  well  the  people  will  applaud,  and  if 
he  does  ill  they  will  condemn.  He  is  of  the  people 
and  he  trusts  in  their  unerring  judgment. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


HE  IS  NOMINATED  FOR  VICE-PRESIDENT. 

TT  IS  rare  in  the  political  life  of  any  man  that  a 
•*•  nomination  to  such  a  high  office  as  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States  comes  wholly  unsought,  and  with 
the  entire  unanimity  of  his  party  friends.  Such  a 
distinction  came  to  Senator  Fairbanks  on  the  23d 
of  June,  1904.  For  months  his  name  had  been  prom 
inently  coupled  with  that  high  office.  He  did  not 
seek  the  nomination.  He  had  still  five  years  to  serve 
as  Senator,  a  position  to  which  his  party  in  Indiana 
had  twice  elevated  him.  The  floor  of  the  Senate  was 
a  fitting  place  for  the  display  of  his  talents.  He  had 
achieved  the  position  there  of  being  one  of  the  party 
leaders.  He  was  looked  upon  as  a  conservative  and 
wise  legislator.  He  loved  the  duties  of  Senator,  and 
although  he  regarded  the  office  of  Vice-President  of 
the  Republic  as  one  of  very  high  distinction  and 
honor,  he  would  not  seek  it. 

Many  of  his  ardent  friends  in  different  parts  of 
the  country,  and  many  of  the  party  leaders,  looking 
to  the  advantage  of  the  party,  urged  him  to  announce 
himself  as  a  candidate  for  the  place.  In  his  own 

—199- 


200  FAIEBANKS 

State  his  party  friends  were  opposed  to  it,  and  ad 
vised  him  to  say  he  would  not  accept  the  nomination 
if  tendered  to  him.  This  he  declined  to  do,  holding 
that  it  was  a  matter  that  could  only  be  determined 
in  the  light  of  public  duty.  They  urged  upon  him 
that  his  State  had  sent  him  to  the  Senate  and  had  a 
right  to  demand  that  he  remain  there ;  that  his  seven 
years  of  service  had  given  him  an  experience  that 
another  could  only  obtain  by  a  like  period  of  service ; 
that  the  State  needed  his  services  in  the  Senate. 
These  arguments  came  from  the  friends  who  had 
stood  with  him  through  all  his  political  life,  and  it 
was  felt  by  the  Senator  that  such  expressions  de 
served  to  be  weighed  carefully. 

To  all  he  frankly  said  his  preference  was  to  re 
main  in  the  Senate,  but,  as  he  would  not  give  en 
couragement  to  those  who  were  advising  him  to  be 
come  an  avowed  candidate  for  the  place,  so  he  would 
riot  lightly  make  up  his  mind  to  openly  decline  it  if 
tendered  by  the  party.  The  feeling  in  favor  of  the 
nomination  of  Mr.  Fairbanks  so  increased  that,  by 
the  time  the  convention  met,  hardly  any  other  name 
was  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  second  place 
on  the  ticket.  The  Senator  was  one  of  the  delegates- 
at-large  from  Indiana,  and  in  that  capacity  attended 
the  convention.  Wherever  he  was  present  he  was 
received  with  an  enthusiasm  that  showed  the  hold  he 
had  on  his  party.  So  strong  was  the  feeling  in  his 
favor,  and  that  his  name  would  add  strength  to  the 


FAIRBANKS  201 

ticket,  that  his  Indiana  friends  at  last  gave  consent 
to  his  accepting  the  nomination  if  the  convention 
should  so  desire. 

The  Republican  National  Convention  of  1904  was 
a  great  gathering.  Many  of  the  most  notable  men 
of  the  Nation  were  present  as  delegates.  They  were 
there  to  lend  their  potent  aid  in  shaping  the  declara 
tion  of  principles;  to  give  their  adherence  to  the 
patriotic  administration  of  President  Roosevelt,  and 
to  join  in  declaring  him  the  unanimous  choice  of  the 
party  to  succeed  himself  in  that  high  office.  Mr. 
Roosevelt  was  duly  named  as  the  candidate  for  Presi 
dent  and  the  time  came  to  choose  his  associate  on  the 
ticket.  Senator  Dolliver,  of  Iowa,  rose,  amid  great 
enthusiasm,  and  spoke  as  follows : 
"Gentlemen  of  the  Convention: 

"The  National  Republican  convention,  now  nearly 
ready  to  adjourn,  has  presented  to  the  world  a  moral 
spectacle  of  extraordinary  interest  and  significance. 
It  is  a  fine  thing  to  see  thousands  of  men  representing 
millions  of  people,  fighting  in  the  political  arena  for 
their  favorite  candidates,  and  contending  valiantly 
for  the  success  of  contradictory  principles  and  con 
flicting  doctrines.  Out  of  such  a  contest,  with  its 
noise  and  declamation,  its  flying  banners,  its  thunder 
of  the  captains  and  the  shouting,  the  truth  often  se 
cures  a  vindication  and  the  right  man  comes  tout 
victorious.  Sometimes,  however,  wisdom  is  lost  in 
the  confusion,  and  more  than  once  we  have  seen  tho 


202  FAIKBANKS 

claims  of  leadership  swallowed  up  in  contention  and 
strife. 

"We  have  the  honor  to  belong  to  a  convention 
whose  constituency  in  every  State  and  Territory,  and 
in  the  islands  of  the  sea,  has  done  its  thinking  by 
quiet  firesides,  undisturbed  by  clamor  of  any  sort, 
and  has  simplified  our  responsibilities  by  the  unmis 
takable  terms  of  the  credentials  which  we  hold  at 
their  hands. 

"At  intervals  of  four  years  I  followed  the  banner 
of  James  G.  Elaine  through  the  streets  of  our  con 
vention  cities,  from  Cincinnati  to  Minneapolis,  and 
did  my  full  share  to  see  that  nobody  got  any  more 
applause  than  the  great  popular  leader,  who  had  cap 
tured  my  enthusiasm  long  before  I  was  old  enough 
to  vote. 

"Not  even  his  defeat  served  to  diminish  the  hold 
which  our  champion  had  upon  the  hearts  of  those 
who  followed  him,  and  it  has  required  a  good  deal  of 
experience  to  enable  them  to  understand  the  lesson 
of  his  defeat.  Other  conventions  have  met  to  settle 
the  fate  of  rival  chieftains ;  we  meet  to  record  the 
judgment  of  the  Republican  millions  of  the  United 
States. 

"They  have  based  their  opinion  upon  the  facts  of 
the  case.  They  have  not  concluded  that  we  have  the 
greatest  President  of  the  United  States  since  Wash 
ington.  They  know  how  to  measure  the  height  and 
depth  of  things  better  even  than  Professor  Bryce, 


FAIKBANKS  203 

when  he  deals  with  the  superlatives  which  find  their 
way  into  all  well-regulated  banquets  after  midnight. 
They  have  not  forgotten  the  grave  of  Lincoln,  which 
has  become  a  shrine  for  the  pilgrimage  of  the  human 
race.  They  remember  still  the  day  when  the  canon 
of  Westminster  opened  the  doors  of  that  venerable 
monument  to  admit  the  name  of  the  silent  American 
soldier  into  the  household  of  English  spoken  fame. 

"They  have  passed  no  vainglorious  judgment  upon 
the  career  of  Theodore  Roosevelt.  They  have  studied 
it  .with  sympathetic  interest  from  his  boyhood,  as  he 
has  risen  from  one  station  of  public  usefulness  to  an 
other,  until  at  length,  before  the  age  of  forty-five,  he 
stands  upon  the  highest  civil  eminence  known  among 
men.  Their  tears  fell  with  his  as  he  stood  in  the 
shadow  of  poor  McKinley's  death,  and  as  a  part  of 
his  oath  of  office  asked  the  trusted  counselors  who 
stood  by  the  side  of  the  fallen  President  to  help  him 
carry  forward  the  work  which  he  had  left  unfin 
ished,  and  while  his  administration  deserved  the 
tribute  which  it  received  in  this  convention  from  the 
eloquent  lips  of  our  temporary  chairman,  it  is  be 
cause  he  has  executed  in  a  manly  way  the  purpose 
of  the  Republican  party  and  interpreted  aright  the 
aspirations  of  the  American  people.  Nor  can  there 
be  a  doubt  that,  if  in  the  years  to  come,  he  shall  walk 
steadfastly  in  the  same  path,  he  will  be  numbered 
among  the  great  leaders  of  the  people  who  have  given 
dignity  and  influence  to  their  highest  office. 


204  FAIEBANKS 

"But  the  judgment  of  the  Republican  party  is  not 
only  united  upon  its  candidate — it  is  unanimous 
also,  upon  the  fundamental  principles  for  which  it 
stands.  I  think  the  convention  has  been  fortunate 
in  harmonizing  the  minor  differences  which  unavoid 
ably  arise  in  a  country  like  ours,  where  speech  is  free 
and  where  printing  is  free.  We  stand  together  on  the 
proposition  that  the  industrial  system  of  the  United 
States  must  not  be  undermined  by  a  hostile  partisan 
agitation,  and  that  whatever  changes  are  necessary 
in  our  laws  ought  to  be  made  by  the  friends,  or  at 
least  the  acquaintances,  of  the  protective  tariff  sys 
tem. 

"The  things  upon  which  we  are  agreed  are  so  great 
and  the  things  about  which  we  differ  are  so  small, 
that  we  are  able,  without  sacrificing  sincere  Repub 
lican  convictions,  anywhere,  to  unite  as  one  man  in 
defense  of  our  common  faith. 

"We  stand  at  the  beginning  of  the  new  era,  and 
while  the  Republican  party  leans  upon  the  counsel 
of  its  old  leaders,  it  has  not  hesitated  to  summon  to 
the  responsibilities  of  public  life  the  young  men  who 
have  been  trained  under  their  guidance  to  take  up 
the  burdens  which  they  are  ready  to  lay  down,  and 
finish  the  work  which  comes  to  them  as  an  inherit 
ance  of  patriotism  and  duty.  That  is  the  significance 
of  the  nomination  of  Theodore  Roosevelt,  and  that 
is  the  explanation  of  the  call  which  has  been  made  by 
the  Republican  party  without  a  dissenting  voice  upon 


FAIEBANKS  205 

Charles  W.  Fairbanks  to  stand  by  the  side  of  the 
President  in  the  guidance  and  leadership  of  the  Re 
publican  party. 

"While  he  has  not  sought  to  constrain  the  judg 
ment  of  the  convention,  directly  or  indirectly,  he  has 
kept  himself  free  from  the  affectation  which  under 
values  the  dignity  of  the  second  office  in  the  gift  of 
the  American  people,  and  I  do  not  doubt  that  his 
heart  has  been  touched  by  the  voluntary  expression 
of  universal  good  will  which  has  already  chosen  him 
as  one  of  the  standard-bearers  of  the  Republican 
party  of  the  United  States. 

"The  office  has  sought  the  man,  and  he  will  bring 
to  the  office  the  commanding  personality  of  a  states 
man  equal  to  any  of  the  great  responsibilities  which 
belong  to  our  public  affairs.  A  leader  of  the  Senate, 
the  champion  of  all  the  great  policies  which  consti 
tute  the  invincible  record  of  the  Republican  party 
during  the  last  ten  years,  his  name  will  become  a 
tower  of  strength  to  our  cause,  not  only  in  his  own 
State,  but  everywhere  throughout  the  country.  A 
man  of  affairs,  the  whole  business  community  shares 
the  confidence  which  his  political  associates  have  re 
posed  in  him  from  the  beginning  of  his  public  life. 
The  quiet,  undemonstrative,  popular  opinion,  which 
has  given  the  Republican  party  a  platform  upon 
which  all  Republicans  can  stand  with  no  dissenting 
voice,  here  or  anywhere,  has  long  since  anticipated 
tlio  notion  of  this  convention  in  adding  to  the  national 


206  FAIEBANKS 

Republican  ticket  the  name  of  Senator  Fairbanks,  of 
Indiana. 

"I  take  pleasure  in  presenting  his  name,  honored 
everywhere  throughout  the  United  States,  as  our  can 
didate  for  Yice-President." 

When  Senator  Chauncey  M.  Depew  rose  to  second 
the  nomination  of  Mr.  Fairbanks,  on  the  part  of  New 
York,  a  delegate  inquired  whether  he  had  had  his 
dinner.  Mr.  Depew  took  this  inquiry  for  the  text  of 
his  speech,  and  said: 

"My  friend  wants  to  know  if  I  have  had  my  din 
ner,  but  what  I  am  about  to  say  is  in  behalf  of 
dinners  for  the  American  people.  I  can  not  help  con 
trasting,  in  listening  to  the  eloquence  with  which  we 
have  been  privileged  this  morning,  what  will  be  the 
difference  when  our  Democratic  friends  meet  on  the 
6th  of  July  to  go  through  with  their  duty  of  nom 
inating  candidates  and  adopting  a  platform.  We 
here  have  been  unanimous  upon  our  candidates,  all 
agreed  upon  our  principles,  all  recognizing  and  ap 
plauding  our  great  statesmen,  living  and  dead,  and 
agreeing  with  them,  while  on  the  other  hand  in  that 
convention  there  will  be  the  only  two  living  exponents 
of  Democratic  principles. 

"On  the  one  side  will  be  their  only  President  ris 
ing  and  saying  'be  sane/  while  on  the  other  side,  in 
opposition,  will  come  their  last  candidate  for  Presi 
dent,  saying  'be  Democrats.'  The  two  are  incompat 
ible. 


FAIRBANKS  207 

"I  present  just  two  thoughts  which  it  seems  to  me 
in  the  flood  of  our  oratory  have  been  passed  "by. 
There  has  been  criticism  of  this  convention  that  it 
was  without  enthusiasm,  perfunctory  and  would  oc 
cupy  little  place  in  history.  But  this  convention  is 
an  epoch-making  convention,  because  it  marks  the 
close  of  fifty  years  of  the  life  of  the  Republican 
party.  That  fifty  years,  if  we  should  divide  recorded 
time  into  periods  of  half  a  century,  the  fifty  years 
from  1854  to  1904,  would  concentrate  more  that  has 
been  done  in  this  world  for  the  uplifting  of  humanity 
than  all  the  half  centuries  which  have  preceded. 
While  this  half  century  has  done  so  much  in  elec 
tricity,  so  much  in  steam,  so  much  in  invention,  so 
much  in  medicine,,  so  much  in  surgery,  its  one  dis 
tinguishing  characteristic  will  be  that  it' was  the  half 
century  of  emancipation — emancipation  all  over  the 
world,  led  mainly  by  the  American  thought  and  the 
success  of  the  American  experiment. 

"But  when  for  our  purpose  we  look  back  over  this 
half  century  we  find  that  the  best  part  of  it,  that 
which  has  made  most  for  the  welfare  of  our  country, 
most  for  emancipation,  has  been  done  by  the  Repub 
lican  party. 

"In  1854  James  Buchanan,  at  Ostend,  issued  the 
manifesto  to  buy  or  conquer  Cuba  for  slavery,  and 
in  1900  William  McKinley  set  up  Cuba  as  an  inde 
pendent  republic.  In  1854  the  first  cable  flashed 
under  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  this  tremendous  dis- 


208  FAIKBANKS 

covery  came  from  a  Republican  President  who  was 
the  only  President  since  the  formation  of  the  coun 
try  who  had  presided  over  the  destinies  of  a  free 
people,  with  freedom  in  the  Constitution,  and  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  no  longer  a  living 
lie. 

"Now,  it  was  only  sixty  years  ago,  ten  years  pre 
ceding  the  birth  of  the  Republican  party,  when  that 
great  wit  and  great  writer,  Sydney  Smith,  said :  'Who 
reads  an  American  book  ?  Who  eats  off  an  American 
plate  ?  Who  drinks  out  of  an  American  glass  ?  Who 
wears  American  clothes  ?  Who  buys  anything  Amer 
ican?'  The  answer  is  that  from  the  figures  coming 
yesterday  from  the  Department  of  Commerce  we  dis 
cover  that  this  year  $450,000,000  of  manufactured 
articles  from  American  looms  and  factories  go  into 
European  markets  to  compete  with  the  highly  organ 
ized  industrial  nations  of  the  world  in  their  own  mar 
ket  places. 

"An  American  can  start  and  go  around  the  world 
and  not  leave  his  country.  He  can  cross  the  Pacific 
to  Yokohama  in  a  Northern  Pacific  steamer.  He 
rides  through  Japan  and  China  under  American  elec 
trical  appliances.  He  goes  six  thousand  miles  across 
the  Siberian  Railway  in  American  cars  drawn  by 
American  locomotives.  In  Spain  alongside  of  their 
orange  groves  he  finds  California  oranges.  In  France 
he  drinks  wine,  labeled  French,  which  has  come  from 
San  Francisco.  He  crosses  the  Nile  upon  a  bridge 


FAIRBANKS  209 

made  in  Pittsburg.  In  an  English  hotel  he  goes  to 
his  room  near  the  roof  in  an  elevator  manufactured 
in  New  York.  His  feet  are  on  carpets  made  in  Yon- 
kers.  On  the  banks  of  the  Ganges  he  reads  his  cables 
by  an  electric  light  run  by  an  American  and  made  in 
America.  He  goes  under  old  London  in  tunnels  dug 
by  and  run  by  American  machinery  and  American 
genius,  and  then  he  goes  to  Newcastle  and  finds  that 
the  problem  which  has  been  unsolvable  forever,  coals 
• — American  coals  are  carried  to  Newcastle. 

"Now,  my  friends,  while  we  represent  the  posi 
tive,  the  convention  which  meets  on  the  6th  of  July 
represents  that  element  unknown  heretofore  in  Amer 
ican  politics,  the  opportunist.  It  is  waiting  for  bank 
ruptcy,  waiting  for  panic,  waiting  for  industrial  de 
pression,  waiting  for  financial  distress. 

"There  was  an  old  farmer  upon  the  Maine  coast 
who  owned  a  farm  with  a  rocky  ledge  running  out 
into  the  ocean  called  Hurricane  Point.  On  it  ships 
were  wrecked,  and  he  gathered  his  harvest  from  the 
rocks,  and,  in  his  will,  he  wrote :  'I  divide  my  farm 
equally  among  my  children,  but  Hurricane  Point 
shall  be  kept  for  all  of  you  forever,  for  while  the 
winds  blow  and  the  waves  roll  the  Point  will  pro 
vide.7 

"But  we  have  put  a  lighthouse  on  Hurricane  Point, 
a  lighthouse  of  protection,  with  a  revolving  light 
shedding  gold  over  the  ocean,  and  American  com- 


210  FAIRBANKS 

merce  is  going  and  coming  in  absolute  safety.  And 
now,  gentlemen,  my  second  thought. 

"It  seems  to  me  that  we  have  not  given  enough  im 
portance  to  the  office  of  Yice-President  of  the  United 
States.  It  was  not  so  among  the  fathers.  Then  of 
the  two  highest  potential  Presidential  possibilities^ 
one  took  the  Presidency,  the  other  the  Vice-Presi 
dency.  But  in  the  last  forty  years,  ridicule  and  cari 
cature  have  placed  the  office  almost  in  contempt.  Let 
us  remember  that  Thomas  Jefferson ;  let  us  remember 
that  old  John  Adams ;  let  us  remember  that  John  C. 
Calhoun  and  George  Clinton  and  Martin  Van  Buren 
were  Yice-Presidents  of  the  United  States. 

"Eighty  millions  of  people  want  for  Vice-Presi- 
dent  a  Presidential  figure  of  full  size.  He  presides 
over  the  Senate,  but  he  does  more  than  that.  He  is 
the  confidant  of  the  Senators.  He  is  the  silent  mem 
ber  of  every  committee.  He  is  influential  in  that 
legislation  which  originates  and  which  is  shaped  in 
the  Senate,  and  now  that  we  have  become  a  world 
power,  now  that  treaties  make  for  either  our  pros 
perity,  our  open  door,  or  our 'closed  harbors,  he  is 
necessarily  an  important  factor  in  the  machinery  of 
the  government.'  By  the  tragic  death  of  McKinley 
the  Vice-President  was  elevated  to  the  Presidency, 
and  today  for  the  first  time  we  have  renominated  the 
Vice-President  who  thus  came  to  be  the  President. 

UA11  that  has  been  said  here  about  Theodore  Eoose- 
velt — all  of  which  is  true — the  highest  tribute  to  him 


FAIRBANKS  211 

is  that  the  American  people,  for  the  first  time,  unani 
mously  demand  a  Yice-President  shall  be  the  elect  of 
their  choice  for  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States. 

"JvTow,  gentlemen,  it  is  my  privilege,  in  looking 
for  Vice-Presidential  possibilities,  to  announce  what 
^you  all  know,  that  we  have  found  a  Vice-Presidential 
candidate  of  full  Presidential  size. 

"Everybody  knows  that,  if  the  towering  figure  of 
Theodore  Roosevelt  had  been  out  of  this  canvass,  one 
of  the  promising  candidates  before  this  conven 
tion  for  President  of  the  United  States  would  have 
been  Charles  W.  Fairbanks.  And  i^ew  York,  appre 
ciating  his  great  ability  as  a  lawyer,  appreciating  the 
national  name  he  has  made  for  himself  as  a  Senator, 
appreciating  his  dignity,  his  character  and  his  genius, 
for  public  affairs,  seconds  the  nomination  of  Charles 
W.  Fairbanks  for  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States." 

Speaking  for  Ohio,  Senator  Foraker  said : 
"Gentlemen  of  the  Convention : 

"We  have  come  here  to  do  three  things:  Make  a 
platform,  name  the  next  President  of  the  United 
States,  and  also  name  the  next  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States ;  we  have  done  two  of  these  things,  and 
are  about  to  do  the  third.  And  we  have  done  both 
of  the  things  we  have  done  well. 

"The  platform  we  adopted  yesterday  has  already 
met  the  favorable  judgment  of  the  American  people. 
It  is  the  counterpart  of  the  best  the  Republican  party 


212  FAIRBANKS 

has  ever  adopted,  and,  if  you  would  know  how  high 
is  that  tribute,  recall  the  fact  now  of  which  every 
Republican  may  justly  feel  proud — that,  of  all  the 
many  platforms  we  have  made  in  the  fifty  years  of 
our  party  life,  we  would  not  today  strike  one  of  them 
from  our  record  if  we  could. 

"Further  than  that,  there  is  not  a  plank,  or  a  dec 
laration,  or  a  thought,  or  an  idea  in  one  of  them  that 
we  would  erase  if  we  had  the  power.  From  the  plat 
form  of  1856  down  to  that  one  adopted  yesterday,  all 
are  as  solid  as  a  gold  dollar. 

"If  you  would  know  what  a  tribute  is  here  to  Re 
publican  patriotism,  wisdom  and  statesmanship,  re 
call  the  great  questions  with  which  the  Republican 
party  has  dealt  in  making  these  platforms.  They  are 
all  imperishable  contributions  to  the  political  litera 
ture  of  our  day. 

"If  you  would  know  the  measure  of  our  success, 
read  also  of  the  damageable  failure  our  Democratic 
friends  have  met  with  in  making  their  platforms. 

"While  we  are  today  proud  of  the  success  of  ours, 
our  Democratic  friends  can  not  find  one  platform 
they  have  made  in  all  this  period  that  does  not  have 
some  features  at  least  of  which  they  are  now  ashamed. 
~Not  all  of  them,  perhaps,  because  there  are  some 
Democrats  who  can  not  be  ashamed  of  anything. 

"And  on  the  platform  made  yesterday  we  have 
placed  our  candidate  who  is  to  head  the  ticket.  It 
may  not  have  been  as  easy  in  some  of  the  conventions 


FAIRBANKS  213 

that  have  gone  before  to  name  a  Republican  candi 
date  for  the  Presidency  as  it  was  for  us  to  name  our 
candidate  here  today. 

"In  former  years,  when  we  have  been  called  upon 
to  choose  between  such  great  leaders  as  Conkling  and 
Morton  and  Elaine  and  Garfield  and  Harrison  and 
McKinley,  they  have  weighed  so  evenly,  their  claims 
for  merit  were  so  equal,  that  it  was  a  harder  task. 
But  this  time  one  man  stood  head  and  shoulders  above 
all  others  of  our  Republican  leaders,  as  has  been  well 
said  from  this  platform,  by  American  people  before 
we  took  our  seats  in  this  convention. 

"On  the  ticket  with  him,  as  his  associate  for  the 
Vice-Presidency,  we  want  to  place  a  man  who  repre 
sents  in  his  personality,  in  his  belief,  in  his  public 
service,  in  his  high  character,  all  the  splendid  record 
the  Republican  party  has  made ;  all  the  great  declara 
tions  of  the  former  platforms,  and  a  man  who  will 
typify,  as  the  leader  of  our  ticket  will,  the  highest 
ambition  and  the  noblest  purposes  of  the  Republican 
party  of  the  United  States. 

"I  will  not  detain  you  with  an  eulogy  of  Senator 
Fairbanks,  beyond  simply  saying  that,  to  all  who 
know  him  personally  as  those  of  us  do  who  have  been 
closely  associated  with  him  in  the  public  service,  he 
meets  all  the  requirements  so  eloquently  stated  by 
Senator  Depew.  He  is  of  the  Presidential  caliber. 
He  has  all  of  the  qualifications  for  the  high  office  for 
which  he  has  been  named,  and,  by  all  of  these  potent 


214  FAIKBANKS 

considerations,  in  the  name  of  the  forty-six  delegates 
of  Ohio,  I  second  the  nomination  of  Senator  Fair 
banks." 

Governor  Pennypacker,  of  Pennsylvania,  speaking 
for  his  State,  said : 

"The  Kepublican  party  held  its  first  convention 
in  that  city  of  western  Pennsylvania  which  in  energy, 
enterprise  and  wealth  rivals  the  great  mart  on  the 
shores  of  the  inland  lake,  where,  after  the  lapse  of 
nearly  half  a  century,  we  meet  today.  Pennsylvania 
may  well  claim  to  be  the  leader  among  Republican 
States.  The  principles  which  are  embodied  in  the 
platform  of  the  party  as  we  have  adopted  it  are  the 
result  of  the  teachings  of  her  scholars  and  states 


men. 

« 


Her  majorities  for  the  nominees  of  that  party  are 
greater  and  more  certain  than  those  of  any  other 
State.  She  alone,  of  all  the  States,  since  the  elec 
tion  of  Abraham  Lincoln  in  1860,  has  never  given 
an  electoral  vote  against  a  candidate  of  the  Repub 
lican  party  for  the  presidency.  She  is  unselfish  in 
her  devotion.  During  the  period  of  half  a  century 
that  has  gone  no  son  of  hers  has  been  either  President 
or  Vice-P resident.  She  has  been  satisfied,  like  the 
Earl  of  Warwick,  to  be  the  maker  of  kings.  She  has 
been  content  that  you  should  have  regard  to  the  suc 
cess  of  the  party  and  the  welfare  of  the  country, 
rather  than  to  the  personal  interests  of  her  citizens. 
"The  waters  of  the  Ohio,  rising  in  the  moun- 


FAIRBANKS 

tains  of  Pennsylvania,  roll  westward,  bearing  fertil 
ity  and  men  to  the  prairie  lands  of  Indiana.  The 
thought  of  Pennsylvania  turns  with  kindred  feeling 
toward  the  State  which  has  produced  Oliver  P.  Mor 
ton,  Benjamin  Harrison  and  the  brave  Hoosiers  who 
fought  alongside  of  Eeynolds  on  the  Oak  Kidge  at 
Gettysburg.  She  well  remembers  that  when  her  own 
Senator,  who  did  so  much  for  the  Republican  party 
and  whose  wise  counsels,  alas,  are  missing  today,  bore 
a  commission  to  Washington,  he  had  no  more  sin 
cere  supporter  than  the  able  and  distinguished  states 
man,  who  then,  as  he  does  now,  represented  Indiana 
in  the  United  States  Seriate.  Pennsylvania,  with  the 
approval  of  her  judgment  and  with  glad  anticipation 
of  victory  in  her  heart,  following  a  leader,  who,  like 
the  chevalier  of  France,  is  without  fear  and  without 
reproach,  seconds  the  nomination  for  the  Vice-Presi 
dency  of  Charles  W.  Fairbanks,  of  Indiana." 

With  entire  unanimity  and  great  enthusiasm  the 
convention  declared  that  its  choice  for  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States  was  Charles  W.  Fairbanks,  and 
the  work  of  the  convention  was  over. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


HOW  HIS  NOMINATION  WAS  RECEIVED  AT  HIS 
HOME. 

Saturday,  June  25th,  Senator  Fairbanks  re- 
turned  to  his  home  at  Indianapolis.  Before  he 
left  Chicago  he  received  hundreds  of  telegrams  from 
all  parts  of  the  country  congratulating  him  on  his 
nomination,  and  the  party  because  of  his  selection  by 
the  convention.  Many  of  these  were  from  his  friends 
in  Indiana,  quite  a  number  being  from  prominent 
Democrats.  At  every  station  on  his  way  to  Indian 
apolis  he  was  greeted  by  large  and  enthusiastic 
crowds,  and  at  several  points  he  made  brief  speeches. 
At  Indianapolis  his  fellow-citizens  of  all  parties 
arranged  to  give  him  a  hearty  welcome.  When  the 
train  arrived  at  the  Union  Station  it  found  a  great 
throng  awaiting  it.  The  station  was  literally  packed 
with  people,  giving  ample  evidence  of  the  high  re 
gard  in  which  the  Senator  is  held  by  the  people  of  his 
own  city.  The  residence  of  the  Senator  is  two  miles 
from  the  station,  but  along  the  entire  course  the 
crowds  gathered  to  give  him  a  warm  and  cordial 
home-coming.  In  the  absence  of  himself  and  Mrs. 
Fairbanks  the  friends  had  taken  possession  of  the 

-216- 


FAIKBANKS  217 

residence  and  fittingly  decorated  it  for  the  occasion. 

At  the  residence  and  around  it  several  thousand 
citizens  gathered,  and  the  welcome  they  gave  the  dis 
tinguished  party  was  as  cordial  and  enthusiastic  as 
that  which  had  greeted  them  at  the  station.  Speeches 
were  made '  by  Senator  Beveridge,  Hon.  John  W. 
Holtzman,  Mayor  of  the  city,  Hon.  John  W.  Kern, 
and  Hon.  John  L.  Griffith,  the  Mayor  and  Mr.  Kern 
being  two  of  the  Democratic  leaders  of  the  State. 

Mayor  Holtzman  welcomed  the  returning  candi 
date  in  the  following  generous  words : 

"Senator  Fairbanks — The  people  of  your  home 
city  are  here,  irrespective  of  party,  to  welcome  you 
to  your  home  and  to  congratulate  you  upon  the  great 
honor  which  your  political  party  has  conferred  upon 
you  and  which  we  feel  was  a  distinction  and  honor 
well  earned  by  your  fidelity  and  steadfastness  to 
those  principles  which  your  party  represents,  and 
above  that,  by  the  upright  life  and  career  which  you 
have  made  for  yourself  as  citizen  and  statesman. 

"Indiana  has  been  the  political  battleground  in 
many  campaigns  and  her  sons  have  been  honored  by 
both  great  political  parties. 

"The  first  one  was  paid  to  our  great  .State  in  the 
nomination  of  our  distinguished  fellow-citizen,  the 
late  George  W.  Julian,  who  was  nominated  for  Vice- 
President  by  the  Free  Soil  Democracy,  in  1852. 
Later  the  Republican  party  conferred  this  honor  upon 
Schuyler  Colfax,  a  distinguished  editor  of  our  State, 


218  FAIEBANKS 

and  in  1876  the  Democratic  party  selected  for  the 
Vice-Presidency  that  distinguished,  genial  and  most 
lovable  citizen  and  statesman,  Thomas  A.  Hendricks. 
In  1880  the  Democratic  party  again  came  to  Indiana 
to  select  a  candidate  for  Vice-President  and  in  that 
year  nominated  that  able  financier  and  statesman, 
William  H.  English. 

"In  1884  the  Democratic  party,  with  its  eye  still 
upon  the  State  of  Indiana,  again  selected  to  grace  the 
second  place  upon  the  ticket  our  beloved  Hendricks, 
and  in  1888  the  Republican  party  selected  as  its 
standard-bearer  that  distinguished  soldier  and  states 
man  of  Indiana,  Benjamin  Harrison,  and  in  this  year 
of  our  Lord,  the  Republican  party  has  wisely  come 
to  the  Hoosier  State  to  make  its  selection  for  the 
Vice-Presidency,  and  I  hope  it  is  not  out  of  place 
for  me  to  say  here  that  it  is  my  wish  that  the  Demo 
cratic  party  may  exercise  the  same  wisdom  at  its 
convention  in  St.  Louis. 

"Indiana  has  sons  in  each  party  who  would  grace 
either  the  first  or  second  place  upon  either  ticket, 
and  may  I  say  without  giving  offense  that  we  would 
all  have  been  much  better  pleased  had  the  Repub 
licans  at  Chicago  made  the  ticket  read  the  other  way. 

"I  am  sure  that  every  citizen  in  Indiana  deserving 
of  the  name  of  Hoosier  was  proud  when  any  of  her 
citizens  were  honored  by  either  of  the  great  parties. 

"I  am  glad  to  see  that,  notwithstanding  all  of  the 
bitterness  which  has  entered  into  past  campaigns,  we 


FAIKBANKS  219 

are  big  enough  and  broad  enough  to  lay  aside  our 
partisan  feeling  and  to  tender  a  reception  to  one  of 
our  citizens  who  has  won  distinction  for  himself 
which  has  been  recognized  by  the  party  with  which 
he  has  been  affiliated. 

"We  have  a  right  to  differ  as  to  governmental  poli 
cies.  We  have  a  right  to  fight  our  political  battles  to 
a  finish,  but  it  is  well  not  to  let  our  bitterness  inter 
fere  with  that  pride  which  we  should  have  in  our 
fellow-toAvnsmen  in  any  prominence  or  distinction  or 
honor  which  they  may  attain  or  which  may  be  be 
stowed  upon  them.  I  am  proud  to  live  in  a  commu 
nity  where  citizens  turn  out  to  tender  a  reception, 
irrespective  of  party,  to  one  who  has  won  distinction. 

"We  should  not  allow  ourselves  to  be  controlled  by 
the  narrowness  of  party  spirit.  To  be  able  to  meet  at 
all  times  the  common  amenities  of  life  and  to  do  the 
gracious  and  courteous  things,  is  the  sign  of  progress 
toward  that  culture  which  every  community  should 
attain. 

"Let  us  remember  that  we  do  not  lose  our  party 
allegiance  in  doing  honor  to  one  who  has  dis 
tinguished  himself,  and  I  am  sure  that  Indianapolis 
has  a  citizenship  which  is  broad  enough,  to  extend  a 
similar  reception  to  my  very  dear  friend,  the  Hon. 
John  W.  Kern,  when  he  returns  from  St.  Louis  with 
the  Vice-Presidential  nomination  in  his  pocket. 

"In  the  name  of  the  people  qf  the  city  of  Indian 
apolis,  I  greet  you,  with  the  hope  that  such  gifts  and 


220  FAIRBANKS 

honors  as  lie  within  the  power  of  the  party  to  which 
you  belong  may  be  bestowed  upon  you." 
Hon.  John  L.  Griffiths  spoke  as  follows: 
"In  the  civilization  of  Greece  the  city  was  the 
unit  of  power — Athens  was  the  State.  Enough  of 
the  Greek  spirit  survives  to  cause  us  to  rejoice  when 
an  unusual  honor  conies  to  the  city  in  which  we  live. 
It  seems  in  a  sense  to  reflect  honor  upon  each  member 
of  a  community  when  one  of  their  number  is  se 
lected  for  special  distinction  because  of  what  he  has 
done  in  literature  or  art,  in  science  or  philanthropy 
or  statesmanship.  This  gathering  tonight  of  friends 
and  neighbors  is  to  testify  to  their  appreciation  of 
Charles  W.  Fairbanks,  not  as  a  party  leader,  but  as 
a  citizen.  It  is  a  beautiful  and  spontaneous  tribute 
to  the  worth  of  a  man.  In  the  stress  of  the  campaign 
he  will  often  recall,  I  doubt  not,  these  homelike  sur 
roundings  and  this  vast  host  of  men  and  women, 
many  of  whom  for  an  hour  at  least,  forget  their  party 
ties  in  their  eagerness  to  bear  witness  to  the  high  per 
sonal  esteem  in  which  they  hold  their  friend.  Po 
litical  animosities  are  not  as  deep-rooted  or  as  bitter 
as  they  often  appear  to  be.  It  is  well  that  this  is  so. 
No  party  can  arrogate  to  itself  all  the  purity  and 
ability,  all  the  patriotism  and  courage  which  are  to 
be  found  in  the  country  at  any  one  time.  We  realize 
more  and  more  that  chance  plays  little  part  in  the 
successes  of  men.  To  achieve  greatly  one  must  labor 
intelligently  and  continuously. 


FAIEBANKS 


"The  nominee  of  the  Chicago  convention  for  the 
Vice-Presidency  has  not  been  the  favorite  of  fortune. 
He  has  fairly  and  justly  earned  all  the  honors  which 
have  been  bestowed  upon  him.  He  comes  close  to 
the  people  because  his  life  has  been  rooted  in,  their 
lives. 

"His  nomination  is  a  recognition  of  the  growing 
power  of  the  great  middle  West  —  of  that  section  of 
our  common  country  where  the  people  are  peculiarly 
frugal  and  resourceful,  industrious  and  thrifty,  with 
sturdy  notions  of  honesty,  where  they  care  less  for 
cleverness  than  for  integrity  and  place  a  higher  value 
upon  character  than  they  do  upon  wealth. 

"Charles  W.  Fairbanks  was  made  one  of  the  stand 
ard  bearers  of  his  party  because  he  has  always  had 
ea  healthy  conscience'  in  public  matters  and  has  been 
actuated  by  an  overpowering  sense  of  duty.  He  has 
felt  as  Lincoln  did;  that  in  the  tides  of  feeling  which 
sweep  and  surge  about  a  public  man,  he  must  keep 
some  consciousness  of  being  somewhere  near  the 
right.  He  must  keep  some  standard  or  principle 
fixed  within  himself.  He  has  been  diligent  in  the 
business  of  his  Government.  He  has  never  regarded 
the  holding  of  an  office  as  a  pastime,  but  has  keenly 
felt  the  high  responsibility  which  a  lofty  trust  im 
poses.  He  has  always  had  'a  sweet  and  just  tongue/ 
speaking  what  he  had  to  say  temperately  but  forcibly. 
No  public  utterance  of  his  can  be  recalled  in  which 
he  ever  abused  a  political  opponent.  He  has  won  his 

(15) 


222  FAIRBANKS 

way  into  the  hearts  of  men  by  traveling  a  pathway 
too  seldom  traversed — the  pathway  of  gentleness  and 
fairness  and  moderation. 

"His  nomination  is  -a  reminder  that  the  early  tra 
ditions  of  the  Republic  have  not  entirely  disappeared. 
Again  we  have  the  inspiring  spectacle  of  the  office 
seeking  the  man.  Whenever  this  occurs,  now  as  in 
the  days  of  Washington  and  Jefferson  and  the  elder 
Adams,  it  is  the  capable  man  that  is  sought — the  man 
who  by  training,  education,  experience  and  ability  is 
best  equipped  for  the  office. 

"The  nomination  of  Charles  W.  Fairbanks  has 
also  shown,  in  this  age  so  much  given  to  speech- 
making,  that  silence  is  still  golden. 

"General  Lafayette,  upon  his  return  to  France, 
said  of  Martha  Washington,  'She  is  the  best  woman 
in  the  world  and  beloved  by  all  who  know  her.'  Re 
cently  I  heard  a  woman  pay  this  same  tribute  to  the 
wife  who  has  contributed  so  much  to  Senator  Fair 
banks'  illustrious  career.  Coming  from  a  woman, 
the  tribute  means  much  more  than  if  spoken  by  a 
man. 

"In  the  nomination  of  the  husband  we  also  see  an 
appreciation  of  the  wife,  who  is  the  embodiment  of  all 
the  splendid  qualities  which  beautify  and  adorn  the 
highest  and  truest  womanhood.  Through  all  the 
years,  Senator  and  Mrs.  Fairbanks,  your  friends  and 
neighbors  wish  for  both  of  you  peace  and  joy  and 
happiness,  increasing  honors  and  widening  fields  of 
usefulness  and  power." 


FAIEBANKS  223 

Hon.  John  W.  Kern  said : 

"Senator  Fairbanks — To  have  such  a  home-coming 
as  this  must  be  to  the  man  of  heart  and  generous  sen 
sibilities  vastly  more  gratifying  than  to  be  nominated 
and  elected  to  any  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people. 
One  may  be  nominated  and  elected  to  office  simply 
because  men  prompted  by  a  sense  of  duty  or  party 
loyalty  vote  their  party  ticket,  but  this  welcome  home 
from  your  neighbors  of  every  shade  of  political  belief 
conveys  to  you  the  pleasing  fact  that  your  neighbors 
are  your  friends,  delighting  in  your  preferment  and 
rejoicing  because  of  the  high  honors  of  which  you 
are  the  worthy  recipient. 

"This  meeting  proves  that  Indianapolis  is  not  only 
a  city  of  homes,  but  a  city  of  neighbors,  and  the 
neighborly  spirit  of  the  community  was  never  more 
strikingly  illustrated  than  tonight,  when  hundreds  of 
your  fellow-citizens,  who  will  fight  you  tooth  and  nail 
on  election  day,  are  here  in  generous  rivalry  with 
your  most  ardent  political  supporters,  as  to  who  may 
best  attest  the  sincerity  of  the  personal  friendship 
and  good  will  with  which  you  are  regarded  by  all. 

"While  they  recognize  in  you  a  foeman  worthy 
the  steel  of  their  greatest  leaders,  they  also  recognize 
in  you  an  upright  citizen,  a  genial  companion,  a 
neighbor  and  friend,  and  so  most  heartily  do  they 
extend  to  you  their  congratulations,  and  their  best 
wishes  for  your  health,  happiness  and  continued  per 
sonal  prosperity. 


FAIRBANKS 


"It  is  true,  in  Indiana,  at  least,  that  political  dif 
ferences  do  not  interfere  in  the  slightest  degree  with 
personal  friendships.  The  flowers  that  grow  upon 
our  garden  walls  of  party  politics  are  always  in 
bloom.  We  have  shown  to  the  world  in  many  a  hard- 
fought  conflict  in  the  past  that  it  is  entirely  possible 
for  us  to  fight  each  other  in  campaign  times  like 
wildcats;  and  then,  after  the  election,  go  on  drink 
ing  out  of  the  same  canteen,  as  if  nothing  had  hap 
pened. 

"And  this,,  because  all  realize  that  our  differences 
of  opinions  are  honest  differences,  and  that  our  dis 
agreements  are  only  on  questions  of  governmental 
policy  —  for  when  the  Government  itself  is  assailed, 
or  the  honor  of  the  flag  imperiled,  all  differences  are 
instantly  forgotten  —  and  in  devotion  to  the  Republic 
and  loyalty  to  the  flag,  our  people  become  as  indi 
visible  as  the  sea. 

"There  are  many  of  us  who  can  not  vote  for  you 
at  the  polls,,  because  we  do  not  subscribe  to  the  polit 
ical  creed  of  which  you  are  a  distinguished  represent 
ative,  and  we  will  defeat  your  ticket  if  we  can,  but 
we  will  be  none  the  less  your  friends,  wishing  you 
great  prosperity  in  everything  save  politics. 

"The  fact  is,  Senator,  and  I  think  I  violate  no 
confidence  in  stating  it,  that  the  voters  of  my  party 
prefer  you  as  Senator  rather  than  any  other  Repub 
lican  who  might  be  elected  as  your  successor,  and  are 


FAIEBANKS  225 

loath  to  give  you  up  before  the  expiration  of  the  term 
for  which  you  were  elected. 

"They  feel  that  your  services  are  really  needed  in 
that  capacity,  both  by  your  country  and  party,  and 
that  you  are  also  needed  there  as  a  companion  and 
friend  to  Senator  Beveridge,  to  throw  about  him  your 
gentle  restraining  influence.  We  all  like  Senator 
Beveridge,  and  as  one  of  Indiana's  ablest  and  most 
brilliant  sons,  are  proud  of  him,  but  we  feel  that  he 
will  do  better  work  by  the  side  of  an  experienced  and 
staid  companion  like  yourself  than  he  is  likely  to 
when  hitched  up  with  one  of  the  many  colts  who  will 
be  prancing  about  trying  to  get  into  your  senatorial 
harness  even  before  you  have  laid  it  off. 

"I  therefore  assure  you  that,  while  we  may  not  be, 
can  not  be,  for  your  national  ticket,  we  are  neverthe 
less  for  you  for  United  States  Senator  even  to  the 
uttermost  limit  of  your  term. 

"But  seriously  and  in  conclusion,  Senator  Fair 
banks,  you  are  to  be  congratulated,  and  we,  your 
neighbors,  do  most  heartily  congratulate  you  on  your 
great  good  fortune.  You  have  made  a  success  of  life. 
You  have  a  delightful  home  and  family ;  you  have 
received  great  honors  from  your  State  and  your 
party,  but  better  and  above  all  that,  you  have  lived 
such  a  life,  and  so  walked  amongst  men,  as  to  draw 
to  yourself  from  amongst  those  who  know  you  best 
great  hosts  of  personal  friends,  who  are  ready  on  an 
occasion  like  this  to  forget  that  there  are  differences 


226  FAIRBANKS 

of  opinion  amongst  us,  and  join  together  as  one  man 
in  rejoicing  at  the  new  honors  which  have  come  to 
YOU. 

"Without  regard  to  party  lines,  the  people  of  In 
dianapolis,  jour  beautiful  home  city,  are  one  to-night 
in  their  heartfelt  congratulations  to  you,  and  invok 
ing  God's  blessings  upon  you  and  your  household.'' 
Senator  Beveridge  greeted  his  colleague  as  follows : 
"There  are  few  better  words  in  our  language  than 
the  word  'home,'  and  there  is  no  kinder  word  than 
the  word  'welcome.'  If  to  these  another  word  be 
added,  we  have  the  trinity  which  makes  life  worth 
living,  and  that  third  word  is  the  dear  word  'friend.' 
These  words  and  all  they  mean  are  on  our  lips  to 
night,  and  they  are  on  our  lips  because  they  are  in 
our  hearts;  for  we  welcome  home  our  friend.  We 
greet  him  in  that  solid,  earnest  faithful  way  which 
distinguishes  the  people  of  our  city  and  our  State. 
The  people  of  Indiana  claim  no  monopoly  of  human 
virtues,  but  this  we  know:  that  nowhere  does  hospi 
tality,  generosity  and  good  fellowship  mean  more 
than  here  within  the  boundaries  of  our  common 
wealth.  And  when  one  of  Indiana's  sons  wins  dis 
tinction  all  the  people  of  our  State  are  proud  and 
glad.  It  is  in  this  spirit  that  we,  his  neighbors, 
gather  fonight  about  the  roof  tree  of  our  beloved 
fellow-citizen  who  comes  _  back  to  us  crowned 
with  an  honor  conferred  upon  him  by  men 
from  all  over  the  Republic,  The  pride  we 


FAIKBANKS  227 

feel  in  him,  the  gratitude  which  is  in  our  hearts 
to  those  who  placed  this  laurel  upon  his  brow, 
is  that  of  brothers  and  sisters  of  a  family.  In 
a  certain  sense  we  feel  that  we  share  in  the  high  favor 
which  has  been  conferred  upon  him.  For  we  live 
right  beside  him.  For  years  wre  have  gone  with  him 
about  the  walks  of  the  day's  business ;  for  years  been 
favored  by  his  genial  presence ;  for  years  his  perfect 
life  has  been  to  us  all  an  example  and  inspiration. 
So,  as  friends  and  neighbors  we  take  him  by  the 
hand  tonight  with  the  grasp  of  that  real  welcome  bet 
ter  spoken  by  the  touch  of  hand  than  by  the  sound  of 
words.  This  assemblage  assures  him  again  of  what 
he  has  always  known  and  always  may  know :  that  he 
is  surrounded  now  as  he  will  be  hereafter  by  the 
friendship  of  the  people  among  whom  he  lives.  One 
of  the  greatest  gifts  which  the  Father  can  bestow  011 
any  human  being  is  the  treasure  of  friendship ;  and 
this  treasure  Senator  Fairbanks  has  in  noble  measure. 
"The  law  of  compensation  is  universal,  and  110 
honor  comes  to  man  without  corresponding  duties. 
Into  the  arduous  work  to  which  my  eminent  colleague 
is  now  immediately  called  he  will  have  the  inspira 
tion  of  the  hearty  good  washes  of  every  man,  woman 
and  child  in  Indiana ;  and  we  on  our  part  have  the 
sure  knowledge  that  in  it  all  he  will  speak  and  work 
for  what  he  believes  to  be  best  for  the  Republic.  In 
this  he  will  be  merely  a  type  of  Americanism ;  be 
cause  all  of  us,  of  every  party  and  of  every  creed, 


228  FAIRBANKS 

are  hoping  and  working  in  our  various  ways  to  make 
and  keep  this  Nation  the  noblest  of  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth.  As  we  are  given  to  see  the  right,  each 
one  of  us  is  now  doing  and  will  hereafter  do  his  part 
to  keep  the  fires  of  American  ideals  burning  on  Lib 
erty's  altar.  In  this  sense  all  of  us,  of  every  party 
and  of  every  creed,  hail  our  friend  and  neighbor  as 
a  fellow-American,  who,,  in  common  with  us  all, 
works  and  wishes  for  the  Republic's  good.  That  our 
friend  does  this — that  his  efforts  are  devoted  to  the 
Nation's  weal,  that  earnest  consecration  to  high  pur 
poses  distinguishes  him — none  can  better  know  than 
I,  who  for  five  years  have  been  favored  by  sitting  at 
his  side  in  that  exalted  body  which  his  presence  has 
honored  and  adorned.  As  friends  and  neighbors  we 
greet  him  and  wish  him  good  fortune  and  God 
speed." 

Senator  Fairbanks  said: 

"Mr.  Mayor,  Mr.  Griffiths,  Mr.  Kern,  Senator 
Beveridge,  my  Neighbors  and  Friends — What  can  I 
say  ?  This  splendid  greeting  steals  my  tongue  away. 
You,  good  friends,  have  said  more,  and  no  one  knows 
better  than  I  how  much  more,  than  I  deserve.  To 
you  I  bring  the  tribute  of  a  heart  outflowing  with 
gratitude  for  this  manifestation  of  your  neighborly 
respect.  I  recognize  among  the  vast  multitude  here 
many  who  are  not  in  political  accord  with  me.  I 
honor  them  none  the  less  for  that,  for  in  this  great 
Republic  the  right  of  difference  with  respect  to  polit- 


FAIRBANKS  229 

ical  questions  goes  unchallenged.  I  do  not  expect  to 
win  all  of  you  to  my  political  beliefs,  but  I  do  hope  to 
convince  you  as  to  the  integrity  of  my  motives  and 
purposes.  No  word  from  me  tonight  will  have  about 
it  any  political  partisan  flavor — none  whatever. 

"You  have  alluded,  my  friends,  to  the  great  Na 
tional  Convention  at  Chicago,  which  conferred  a  dis 
tinguished  honor  upon  me.  Great  as  that  is,  it  is 
incomparable  to  the  honor  which  I  realize  in  full 
measure  tonight.  All  of  the  political  parties  upon 
this  earth  can  confer  no  honor  that  is  comparable  to 
that  which  I  trust  I  enjoy  in  the  respect  and  confi 
dence  of  the  people  of  this  city  and  State.  My 
friends,  honor  does  not  abide  in  place,  no  matter 
how  exalted  it  is.  It  abides  in  the  hearts  and  the 
confidence  of  one's  countrymen. 

"This  is  a  splendid  city.  All  that  we  have  been, 
all  that  we  are  and  all  that  we  expect  to  be,  is  cen 
tered  here.  Her  shame  is  our  shame;  her  honor  is 
our  glory.  'Home/  says  my  beloved  colleague — yes, 
in  all  the  vocabulary  of  men,  vast  as  it  is,  there  is  no 
sweeter  and  no  holier  word  than  that.  And  you  have 
added  to  its  sweetness  tonight.  It  possesses  a  splen 
dor  and  a  glory  it  never  possessed  before. 

aMy  friend,  Mr.  Griffiths,  in  the  goodness  of  his 
nature,  paid  a  tribute — 

[The  Senator  was  so  affected  at  this  point  that  for 
a  time  he  was  unable  to  proceed.  Mr.  Griffiths  had 
paid  a  high  tribute  to  Mrs.  Fairbanks.] 


230  FAIKBANKS 

"All  I  can  say,  is,  I  thank  you  for  it. 

"This  State  has  contributed  some  of  the  greatest 
names  ever  contributed  by  your  party  [turning  to  Mr. 
Kern]  and  ours  in  American  history,  and  in  the 
glory  they  brought  the  State  we  find  an  equal  cause 
for  rejoicing  and  gratification.  The  city  of  Indian 
apolis  gave  to  the  Nation  an  eminent  United  States 
Senator  and  a  Vice-President,  a  friend  of  mine  from 
the  time  I  set  foot  in  Indianapolis — Hon.  Thomas 
A.  Hendricks.  And  there  was  Joseph  E.  McDonald, 
a  man  of  sound  judgment,  of  patriotic  purpose,  a 
United  States  Senator  of  distinction,  and  then  there 
was  William  H.  English,  who  was  nominated  for  the 
second  office  in  the  gift  of  the  people.  Their  mem 
ories  are  a  part  of  the  rich  inheritance  that  not  only 
Democracy  enjoys,  but  Republicanism  as  well  in  the 
State  of  Indiana. 

"My  friends,  the  list  is  a  long  one.  There  is  an 
other  name  to  which  I  would  direct  your  attention. 
It  stood  a  'tower  of  strength  in  the  perilous  days  of 
the  Republic.  I  refer  to  the  Cromwell  of  American 
politics,  Oliver  P.  Morton. 

"And  there  was  my  old-time  friend  and  our  old 
neighbor,  Judge  Walter  Q.  Gresham,  who  rendered 
conspicuous  civic  and  military  service  and  left  us  a 
name  without  a  stain.  Yes,  and  there  was  another 
— one  who  wrote  a  high  record  of  patriotic,  intelli 
gent,  conservative  service  to  the  Republic — the  late 
General  Benjamin  Harrison. 


FAIRBANKS  231 

"My  fellow  citizens,  we  have  had  a  busy  day  of 
it.  Coming  from  the  city  of  Chicago,  all  the  way 
through  the  State,  we  have  been  met  by  magnificent 
assemblages  of  American  citizens.  Our  countrymen, 
without  regard  to  party  distinctions  or  partisan  dif 
ferences,  have  come  to  meet  and  to  greet  us.  I  know 
very  well  that  when  the  time  for  gathering  the  judg 
ment  of  the  American  people  at  the  ballot-box  comes, 
our  differences  will  manifest  themselves,  but  thus  far 
there  has  been  no  trace  whatever  of  partisan  division. 
In  that  fact  I  find  the  greatest  gratification.  It  is 
an  assurance  to  me  that,  after  all,  partisans  as  we  are 
in  this  great  State  where  political  battles  are  won  in 
the  heat  of  conflict,  we  are  all  Americans,  Americans 
all. 

"I  have  only  this  further  to  say,  my  friends :  We 
can  make  this  community  better,  we  can  make  the 
city  better,  if  we  will.  We  each  and  all  owe  to  it,  no 
matter  what  our  political  beliefs  are,  intelligent,  de 
voted  service.  This  State,  this  community,  is  a  State 
and  community  of  homes.  We  practice  here  those 
virtues  which  are  the  foundation  of  the  fireside, 
which,  in  the  final  analysis,  is  the  very  bulwark  and 
strength  of  the  Republic. 

"Fellow  citizens,  permit  me  to  return  to  you  my 
thanks,  and  ask  for  you,  in  the  years  that  lie  before 
us,  the  richest  blessings  that  the  Almighty  can  shower 
upon  you,  each  and  every  one." 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


OFFICIALLY  NOTIFIED  OF  HIS  NOMINATION. 

the  3d  of  August  the  committee  appointed  by 
the  convention  to  officially  notify  Senator  Fair 
banks  of  his  nomination  for  Yice-President  arrived 
in  Indianapolis,  headed  by  Hon.  Elihu  Root,  ex-Sec 
retary  of  War.  The  committee  was  escorted  to  the 
residence  of  the  Senator,  where  a  large  crowd  of  cit 
izens  had  assembled.  Mr.  Root,  speaking  for  the 
committee  and  the  convention,  said : 
"Senator  Fairbanks: 

"The  committee  which  now  waits  upon  you  was 
appointed  by  the  National  Convention  of  the  Repub 
lican  party  at  Chicago  in  June  and  its  agreeable  duty 
is  to  notify  you  of  your  nomination  as  the  Republican 
candidate  for  the  office  of  Vice-President  of  the 
United  States  for  the  term  to  begin  on  the  4th  day  of 
March,  1905. 

"We  give  you  formal  notice  of  that  nomination 
with  assurance  of  the  undivided  and  hearty  support 
of  the  great  party  which  has  executed  the  people's 
will  in  the  government  of  this  country  for  the  better 
part  of  the  last  half  century.  The  nomination  comes 


FAIRBANKS  233 

to  you  in  accordance  with  the  best  methods  and  prac 
tices  of  representative  government.  It  was  the  result 
of  long  and  earnest  consideration  and  discussion  by 
the  members  of  the  convention.  It  was  not  the 
chance  product  of  an  excited  hour,  and  it  was  not 
upon  the  demand  of  any  powerful  influence — politi 
cal  or  otherwise — constraining  the  judgment  of  the 
delegates.  It  was  not  made  for  the  purpose  of  concil 
iating  possible  malcontents,  or  of  swelling  the  cam 
paign  fund  of  the  party.  ~No  bargains  or  intrigues 
contributed  to  it.  ~No  suppressions  of  the  truth  or 
misleading  of  the  convention  as  to  your  principles 
and  opinions  were  necessary  to  bring  it  about.  It 
was  the  deliberate,  informed  and  intelligent  judg 
ment  of  the  delegates  from  every  State  and  Territory, 
and  it  was  their  unanimous  judgment. 

"It  is  a  great  office  to  which  you  are  called.  John 
Adams  and  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  George  Clinton, 
and  John  C.  Calhoun,  and  Martin  Van  Buren,  and 
many  others  whose  names  are  illustrious  in  the  his 
tory  of  our  country,  have  filled  it.  It  is  an  office  of 
high  dignity  and  immediate,  ever-present  importance. 
The  credit  and  honor  of  our  country  are  greatly  con 
cerned  in  the  character  and  conduct  of  the  man  who 
presides  over  the  Senate  of  the  United  States — that 
powerful  and  august  body,  of  which  you  are  already 
so  experienced,  so  useful  and  so  honored  a  member. 

"But  the  Yice-President  has  other  grave  duties  of 
imperative  obligation.  When  the  people  elect  a 


234  FAIEBANKS 

President  under  our  political  system  they  do  not 
merely  select  the  man  for  the  office ;  they  give  their 
approval  to  certain  controlling  principles  and  policies 
of  government ;  and  the  administration,  of  which  the 
Vice-President  is  a  part,  is  bound  to  give  effect  to 
these  principles  and  policies.  The  primary  duty  of 
the  Yice-President  to  be  always  ready  to  take  up  the 
burden  of  the  Presidency  if  occasion  requires,  car 
ries  with  it  the  duty  to  be  always  ready  to  continue 
unbroken  the  policies  which  the  people  have  entrusted 
to  the  administration  for  execution.  For  the  due  per 
formance  of  this  duty  the  Vice-President  should  be 
familiar  with  the  conduct  of  affairs  by  the  adminis 
tration  as  it  proceeds,  a  part  of  its  counsels  and  im 
bued  with  a  knowledge  of  its  labors,  its  perplexities 
and  its  motives,  that  can  come  only  from  intimate 
association  and  confidence  and  sympathy.  Too  often 
it  has  happened  that  after  excited  contests  for  the 
Presidential  nomination  the  candidate  for  Vice-Presi 
dent  has  been  selected  from  the  defeated  faction  for 
the  purpose  of  appeasing  their  resentment,  and  that 
after  election  he  has  remained  antagonistic  in  spirit, 
and  a  stranger  to  the  counsels  of  the  President  whom 
he  may  be  called  upon  to  succeed.  Happily  we  are 
now  in  no  such  case.  The  people  would  fain  see  again 
such  relations  of  sympathy  and  loyal  helpfulness  for 
the  public  good  as  existed  between  President  Mc- 
Kinley  and  Vice-President  llobart ;  and  the  personal 
relations  between  President  Roosevelt  and  yourself, 


FAIRBANKS  235 

your  mutual  esteem  and  good  understanding  assure 
us  that  these  happy  conditions  will  come  again  after 
the  4th  of  next  March.  We  count  upon  your  wisdom 
and  experience  and  loyal  aid  as  an  element  of  ever 
present  strength  in  the  coming  administration. 

"As  to  the  supreme  responsibility  of  the  ^7"ice- 
Presidency  in  case  of  succession  to  the  Presidency, 
we  shall  all  pray,  and  no  one  more  earnestly  than 
yourself,  that  it  may  not  come  to  you.  But  we  are 
not  at  liberty  to  ignore  the  possibility  that  it  may 
come.  Sad  and  bitter  experience  admonishes  us  that 
provision  for  succession  to  the  Presidency  is  no  idle 
form.  Of  the  last  twelve  Presidents  elected  by  the 
people  of  the  United  States  five — nearly  one-half — 
have  died  in  office  and  have  been  succeeded  by  Vice- 
Presidents.  A  serious  obligation  rests  upon  political 
parties  which  select  the  candidates  between  whom  the 
people  must  choose,  to  see  to  it  that  they  nominate 
men  for  this  possible  succession  who  have  the 
strength  of  body  and  mind  and  character  which  shall 
enable  them,  if  occasion  comes,  to  take  up  the  bur 
dens  of  the  great  Presidential  office,  to  endure  its  try 
ing  and  exhausting  demands,  to  meet  its  great  re 
sponsibilities,  and  with  firm  hand  and  clear  vision 
to  guide  the  government  of  the  country  until  the 
people  can  express  their  choice  again. 

"Our  opponents  of  the  Democratic  party  have  sig 
nally  failed  to  perform  this  duty.  They  have  nom 
inated  as  their  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency  an 


236  FAIKBANKS 

excellent  gentleman  who  was  born  during  the  presi 
dency  of  James  Monroe,  and  who  before  the  4th  of 
March  next  will  be  in  the  eighty-second  year  of  his 
age.  Before  the  next  administration  is  ended  he  will 
be  approaching  his  eighty-sixth  birthday.  It  is  no 
disparagement  of  this  gentleman,  for  whom,  I  believe, 
we  all  have  the  highest  respect,  to  say  that  he  shares 
the  common  lot  of  mortals,  and  that  the  election  of 
any  man  of  such  great  age  would  furnish  no  safe 
guard  to  the  American  people  against  the  disaster 
which  would  ensue  upon  the  death  of  a  President 
with  a  successor  not  competent  to  perform  the  duties 
of  the  Presidential  office.  It  is  common  experience 
that  very  aged  men,  however  bright  and  active  they 
may  appear  for  brief  periods,  can  not  sustain  long- 
continued  severe  exertion.  The  demands  of  the  Pres 
idential  office  upon  the  mental  and  physical  vitality 
are  so  great,  so  continuous  and  so  exhausting  as  to  be 
wholly  beyond  th.e  capacity  of  any  man  of  eighty- 
five. 

"The  attempt  by  such  a  man  to  perform  the  duties 
of  the  office  would  with  practical  certainty  be  speed 
ily  followed  by  a  complete  breakdown  both  of  body 
and  of  mind.  In  contemplating  the  remote  possi 
bility  of  the  election  of  the  Democratic  candidate  for 
Vice-President,  the  people  of  the  country  are  bound 
to  contemplate  also  as  a  necessary  result  of  such  an 
election  in  case  of  the  President's  death,  that  others, 
not  chosen  by  the  people,  and  we  know  not  who, 


FAIRBANKS  237 

would  govern  in  the  name  of  a  nominal  successor  un 
able  himself  to  perform  the  constitutional  duties  of 
his  office;  or  worse  still,  that  serious  doubt  whether 
the  Vice-President  had  not  reached  a  condition  of 
'inability'  within  the  meaning  of  the  Constitution 
would  throw  the  title  to  the  office  of  President  into 
dispute. 

"The  serious  effect  of  such  an  event  upon  the  gov 
ernment  and  upon  the  business  interests  and  general 
welfare  of  the  country  and  the  serious  effect  even  of 
the  continual  menace  of  such  an  event,  must  be  ap 
parent  to  every  thoughtful  mind. 

"In  your  election,  on  the  other  hand,  this  chief 
requirement  will  be  fully  met.  In  the  full  strength 
of  middle  life  you  are  prepared  for  the  exhausting 
duties  of  the  Presidency.  Your  successful  and  dis 
tinguished  career,  the  ability  and  probity  with  which 
you  have  already  discharged  the  duties  of  high  office, 
the  universal  respect  and  esteem  of  the  people  of  In 
diana  who  have  delighted  to  honor  you,  the  attach 
ment  of  hosts  of  friends  throughout  the  Union — all 
assure  us  that  you  have  the  character  and  the  ability 
to  govern  wisely  and  strongly  should  you  become 
President.  Many  indeed  among  our  people  have  al 
ready  turned  toward  you  as  a  suitable  candidate  to 
be  elected  directly  to  that  great  office. 

"It  is  the  earnest  wish  of  your  party  and  of  many 
good  citizens  who  have  no  party  affiliations  that  you 
shall  accept  this  nomination,  and  that  you  shall  be 

(16) 


238  FAIRBANKS 

elected  in  November  to  be  the  next  Vice-President  of 
the  United  States.  In  expressing  to  you  this  wish, 
we  beg  to  add  an  assurance  of  our  own  personal  re 
spect,  esteem  and  loyalty." 

To  this  address  of  Mr.  Koot  Senator  Fairbanks  re 
plied  as  follows: 
"Mr.  Root  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Committee : 

"I  thank  you  for  the  very  generous  terms  in  which 
you  have  conveyed  the  official  notification  of  my  nom 
ination  for  Yice-President  of  the  United  States.  The 
unsolicited  and  unanimous  nomination  by  the  Repub 
lican  party  is  a  call  to  duty  which  I  am  pleased  to 
obey. 

"I  accept  the  commission  which  you  bring  with  a 
profound  sense  of  the  dignity  and  responsibilities  of 
the  exalted  position  for  which  I  have  been  nominated. 
My  utmost  endeavor  will  be  to  discharge  in  full  meas 
ure  the  trust,  if  the  action  of  the  convention  shall 
meet  the  approval  of  the  American  people. 

"The  platform  adopted  by  the  convention  is  an  ex 
plicit  and  emphatic  declaration  of  principles  in  entire 
harmony  with  those  policies  of  our  party  which  have 
brought  great  honor  and  prosperity  to  our  common 
country,  and  which,  if  continued,  will  bring  us  like 
blessings  in  the  future. 

"The  monetary  and  economic  policies  which  have 
been  so  forcibly  reannounced  lie  at  the  very  founda 
tion  of  our  industrial  life,  and  are  essential  to  the 
fullest  development  of  our  national  strength.  They 


FAIBBANKS  239 

give  vitality  to  our  manufactures  and  commerce,  and 
if  impaired  or  overthrown  there  would  inevitably 
ensue  a  period  of  industrial  depression,  to  the  serious 
injury  of  the  vast  interests  of  both  labor  and  capital. 

"The  Republican  party,  since  it  preserved  the  in 
tegrity  of  the  Republic  and  gave  freedom  to  the  op 
pressed,  never  rendered  a  more  important  service  to 
the  country  than  when  it  established  the  gold  stand 
ard.  Under  it  we  have  increased  our  currency  supply 
sufficiently  to  meet  the  normal  requirements  of  busi 
ness.  It  is  gratifying  that  the  convention  made  frank 
and  explicit  declaration  of  the  inflexible  purpose  of 
the  party  to  maintain  the  gold  standard.  It  is  essen 
tial  not  only  that  the  standard  should  be  as  good  as 
the  best  in  the  world,  but  that  the  people  should  have 
the  assurance  that  it  will  be  so  maintained. 

"The  enemies  of  sound  money  were  powerful 
enough  to  suppress  mention  of  the  gold  standard  in 
the  platform  lately  adopted  by  the  Democratic  Na 
tional  Convention.  The  leader  of  Democracy  in  two 
great  national  campaigns  has  declared,  since  the  ad 
journment  of  the  convention,  that  as  soon  as  the 
election  is  over  he  will  undertake  to  organize  the 
forces  within  the  Democratic  party  for  the  next 
national  contest,  for  the  purpose  of  advancing  the 
radical  policies  for  which  his  element  of  the  party 
stands.  ...  He  frankly  says  that  the  money  question  is 
for  the  present  in  abeyance.  In  view  of  these  palpa 
ble  facts,  it  is  not  the  part  of  wisdom  to  abandon  our 


240  FAIKBANKS 

vigilance  in  safeguarding  the  integrity  of  our  mon 
etary  system.  We  must  have  not  only  a  President 
who  is  unalterably  committed  to  the  gold  standard, 
but  both  houses  of  Congress  in  entire  accord  with 
him  upon  the  subject. 

"In  Congress  and  not  with  the  President  rests  the 
supreme  power  to  determine  the  standard  of  our 
money.  Though  the  Chief  Executive  should  oppose, 
the  Congress,  acting  within  its  independent  constitu 
tional  authority,  could  at  any  time  overthrow  or 
change  the  monetary  standard. 

"The  wisdom  of  our  protective  policy  finds  com 
plete  justification  in  the  industrial  development  of 
the  country.  This  policy  has  become  a  most  vital 
part  of  our  industrial  system  and  must  be  maintained 
unimpaired.  When  altered  conditions  make  changes 
in  schedules  desirable,  their  modification  can  be 
safely  entrusted  to  the  Republican  party.  If  they 
are  to  be  changed  by  the  enemies  of  the  system  along 
free  trade  lines,  uncertainty  would  take  the  place  of 
certainty,  and  a  reaction  would  surely  follow  to  the 
injury  of  the  wage-earners  and  all  who  are  now  prof 
itably  employed.  Uncertainty  undermines  confi 
dence  and  loss  of  confidence  breeds  confusion  and 
distress  in  commercial  affairs. 

"The  convention  was  wise  not  only  in  its  enuncia 
tion  of  party  policies,  but  in  its  nomination  of  a  can 
didate  for  the  Presidency.  During  the  last  three 
years  President  Roosevelt  has  been  confronted  with 


FAIEBANKS  241 

large  and  serious  questions.  These  he  has  met  and 
solved  with  high  wisdom  and  courage.  The  charges 
made  against  him  in  the  Democratic  platform  find  an 
irrefutable  answer  in  his  splendid  administration, 
never  surpassed  in  all  the  history  of  the  Kepublic 
and  never  equaled  by  the  party  which  seeks  to  dis 
credit  it. 

"The  election  of  the  President  is  imperatively  de 
manded  by  those  whose  success  depends  upon  the  con 
tinuance  of  a  safe,  conservative  and  efficient  adminis 
tration  of  public  affairs. 

"We  have  an  ample  record  of  deeds  done,  of  benefi 
cent  things  accomplished  in  the  public  interest.  The 
vast  business  of  the  government  has  been  well  admin 
istered.  The  laws  have  been  enforced  fearlessly  and 
impartially.  The  treasury  has  been  adequately  sup 
plied  with  revenue  and  the  financial  credit  of  the 
Government  was  never  better.  Our  foreign  trade 
balance  continues  to  increase  our  national  wealth. 
We  have  adopted  an  irrigation  policy  which  will 
build  homes  in  the  arid  regions  of  the  West.  The 
Panama  Canal,  the  hope  of  centuries,  is  in  course  of 
construction,  under  the  sole  protection  of  the  Ameri 
can  flag. 

"We  have  peace  and  great  prosperity  at  home  and 
are  upon  terms  of  good  neighborhood  with  the  entire 
world.  These  conditions  constitute  the  strongest  pos 
sible  assurance  for  the  future. 

"Later  I  shall  avail  myself  of  a  favorable  opportu- 


242  FAIRBANKS 

nity  to  submit  to  you,  and  through  you  to  my  fellow- 
citizens,  a  fuller  expression  of  my  views  concerning 
the  questions  now  in  issue. 

"Permit  me  again  to  thank  you  and  to  express  the 
belief  that  we  may  confidently  submit  our  cause  to 
the  candid  and  patriotic  judgment  of  our  coun 
trymen.  " 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


WHAT  IS  SAID  OF  HIM. 

ALMOST  from  the  moment  of  his  entering  the 
Senate  Mr.  Fairbanks  has  stood  among  the 
leaders  of  that  great  legislative  hody.  His  colleagues 
have  held  him  in  high  esteem  and  recognized  his  abil 
ities.  In  1902  the  late  Senator  Mark  Hanna  made 
several  speeches  in  Indiana,  and  in  all  of  them  he 
referred  in  high  terms  to  Senator  Fairbanks.  In  his 
speech  at  Bunker  Hill  he  said : 

aThere  is  no  man  in  the  United  States  Senate  who 
is  respected  more  highly ;  who  has  any  .wider  in 
fluence  nor  who  has  exerted  more  of  that  influence 
in  the  support  of  the  McKinley  administration,  and 
all  through  his  public  life,  than  has  Senator  Fair 
banks.  You  should  be  proud  of  him,  and  in  sending 
him  back  to  the  United  States  Senate  it  will  be  a 
recognition  of  his  eminent  abilities  and  loyal  patriot 
ism  to  have  his  majority  in  the  Legislature  over 
whelming." 

At  South  Bend  he  said: 

"This  election  is  as  important  to  you  as  if  a  Presi 
dent  was  to  be  chosen,  because  you  are  called  upon 

—243- 


244  FAIRBANKS 

this  fall  to  say  whether  you  will  send  back  to  the 
United  States  Senate  that  splendid  Senator,  Charles 
W.  Fairbanks,  a  man  who  entered  that  body  at  a  time 
when  trials  awaited  this  country ;  at  a  time  when  the 
Nation  needed  good  judgment,  sound  sense  and  safe 
legislation;  a  close  friend  and  adviser  of  our  mar 
tyred  President;  always  right  on  every  question,  al 
ways  influential  and  powerful  in  debate,  and  in  all 
things  which  contributed  to  that  splendid  administra 
tion  of  William  McKinley,  he  was  a  prominent  fac 
tor  ;  able  and  attentive  to  all  public  duties  and  to  the 
interests  of  his  constituents  at  home,  he  has  never 
failed  to  support  the  measures  which  have  contrib 
uted  so  much  to  the  benefit  of  all." 

Before  the  meeting  of  the  Chicago  convention 
nearly  all  the  Republican  papers  of  the  country  spoke 
in  terms  of  high  praise  of  Mr.  Fairbanks,  and  urged 
his  selection  for  the  second  place  on  the  ticket.  Since 
the  convention  the  press  of  the  country  has  spoken 
at  length  as  to  his  character  and  abilities.  A  few 
extracts  will  show  the  temper  of  the  whole : 

Gazette,  Pittsburg,  Penn. : 

"Senator  Charles  Warren  Fairbanks  needs  no  in 
troduction  to  the  public.  He  has  carved  out  for  him 
self  a  career  that  speaks  eloquently  for  his  force  of 
character  and  his  standing  where  he  is  known.  On 
the  floor  of  the  Senate  he  has  been  a  leader,  an  ad 
vocate  of  progressive  and  sound  policies.  He  is  a 
man  of  affairs.  He  will  make  a  model  \7ice-Presi- 


FAIRBANKS  245 

dent  .  .  .  Senator  Fairbanks  is  in  close  and  in 
telligent  touch  with  the  interests  and  policies  of  the 
Nation." 

Record,  Troy,  N.  Y. : 

"Senator  Fairbanks7  Eepublicanism  has  never 
been  questioned.  His  addresses  on  public  policy  have 
always  rung  true  to  the  keynote  of  the  issues  as  de 
fined  in  the  party's  platforms,  and  as  temporary 
chairman  of  the  National  convention  in  1896  it  was 
he  who  gave  form  to  the  issues  of  the  campaign  of 
that  year.  He  has  the  full  courage  of  his  convic 
tions.  If  he  is  elected  he  will  without  doubt  make  a 
dignified  and  thoroughly  capable  Vice-President." 

News,  Providence,  R.  I. : 

"Fortunate  indeed  is  the  Republican  party  in  hav 
ing  as  its  nominee  for  Vice-President  such  a  wise  and 
progressive  statesman  as  Charles  Warren  Fairbanks, 
and  President  Roosevelt  is  equally  fortunate  in.  hav 
ing  as  his  associate  on  the  ticket  a  man  of  such  com 
manding  mental  equipment.  Not  only  is  Mr.  Fair 
banks  of  Senatorial  stature,  but  of  Presidential  cali 
ber,  and  he  brings  to  the  cause  of  Republicanism  the 
valuable  assistance  of  his  personal  popularity  in  In 
diana,  a  State  the  electoral  vote  of  which  is  always 
included  in  Democratic  calculations  of  possible  vic 
tory.  He  has  made  an  enviable  record  in  the  pro 
fession  of  the  law  and  on  the  higher  plane  of  politics ; 
he  has  served  with  distinction  in  the  Senate,  where  he 


246  FAIEBANKS 

revealed  himself  as  the  possessor  of  a  long  head  and 
a  loyal  heart,  and  his  sound  judgment  and  familiarity 
with  affairs  of  national  concern  can  not  fail  to  prove 
valuable  assets  of  his  party." 

Times,  Troy,  K  Y. : 

"As  presiding  officer  of  the  Senate,  of  which  he  is 
now  a  valuable  and  respected  member,  as  a  counselor 
of  the  President  and  as  a  representative  to  our  own 
people  and  those  of  other  countries  of  Americanism 
in  high  office,  Charles  W.  Fairbanks,  the  present  Sen 
ator,  will  justify  the  complete  wisdom  with  which 
the  Republican  convention  placed  his  name  on  its 
ticket." 

Express,  San  Antonio,  Texas : 

"He  is  a  leader  of  distinguished  ability,  a  man  who 
is  held  in  high  estimation  by  the  whole  country,  a 
statesman  who  would  honor  any  public  position." 

Gazette,  Delaware,  Ohio : 

"He  is  a  brainy  man,  an  intelligent  man,  a  re 
sourceful  man,  and  a  fearless  man ;  he  is  in  the  Presi 
dential  class.  He  is  a  popular  man,  and  his  name 
will  add  a  tower  of  strength  to  the  ticket." 

Hawkeye,  Burlington,  Iowa: 

"Of  Senator  Fairbanks  much  that  is  good  can  be 
said.  Much  has  been  said  of  him  in  times  past,  and 
it  is  all  to  his  credit  as  a  broad,  earnest,  forceful, 
loyal  Republican.  His  record  is  without  a  stain; 
his  ability  above  question.  He  will  add  a  great 


FAIRBANKS  247 

and  influential  strength  to  the  National  ticket,  and 
he  will  give  a  standing  to  the  office  of  Vice-Presi 
dent  far  above  the  ordinary  conception  of  it." 

Union,  Springfield,  Mass. : 

"He  will  make  an  ideal  presiding  officer  in  stature, 
dignity  and  intellect.  He  will  be  a  most  valuable 
counselor,  and  in  him  the  Eepublic  will  have,  as  it 
always  should  have,  a  man  able  and  worthy  to  take 
his  place  at  the  head  of  the  Nation  should  occasion 
require." 

Kepubiican,  Johnstown,  N.  Y. : 

"Throughout  his  public  life  his  colleagues  have 
reposed  great  confidence  in  his  wisdom,  and  his  ad 
vice  has  been  sought  on  all  important  matters." 

The  Indianapolis  Union,  the  official  organ  of  the  In 
diana  Federation  of  Trade  and  Labor  Unions : 
"There  is  no  man  living  more  approachable,  more 
humble  in  his  simple  method  of  living  than  Senator 
Fairbanks.  We  have  seen  him  get  out  of  his  seat  in 
the  crowded  street  car  and  give  it  to  a  tired  working- 
man  in  his  shirt  sleeves ;  we  saw  him  pick  up  a  pick 
aninny  and  carry  it  across  the  muddy  street,  soiling 
his  own  clothing  while  others  humble  in  circum 
stances  did  not  notice  the  urchin.  Committees  of  or 
ganized  labor  have  frequently  had  occasion  to  call 
on  the  Senator,  and  they  never  had  occasion  to  com 
plain  on  account  of  red  tape  methods  applied  in 
securing  an  audience,  Senator  Fairbanks  was  the 


248  FAIRBANKS 

speaker  on  Labor  Day  at  Kansas  City  two  years  ago. 
His  address  was  full  of  his  Senatorial  utterances 
upon  the  immigration  and  Chinese  exclusion  ques 
tions  which  have  distinguished  him. 

"In  this  particular  direction  one  of  the  influential 
of  American  statesmen  is  in  unison  with  organized 
labor  upon  at  least  two  cardinal  principles.  As  a 
public  man,  Mr.  Fairbanks  is  open  to  public  criti 
cism,  but  we  are  candid  in  our  opinion  that,  reared 
as  a  Republican,  brought  up  amidst  environments 
that  have  taught  him  to  believe  in  the  tenets  of  the 
Republican  party,  there  are  few,  if  any,  of  his  polit 
ical  stature,  of  his  scholarly  attainments,  personal 
traits  and  character,  that  will  more  nearly  serve  the 
people's  best  interests  as  the  Vice-Presidential  nom 
inee  and  incumbent  chosen  by  a  National  Republican 
convention  than  Senator  Charles  Warren  Fair 
banks." 

The  United  States  Tobacco  Journal,  in  its  issue 
of  June  25,  1904,  in  describing  the  efforts  of  the 
cigarmakers  of  the  country  to  secure  a  modification 
of  the  tariff  on  leaf  tobacco,  as  proposed  in  the  pend 
ing  Dingley  bill,  has  this  to  say  in  regard  to  Sen 
ator  Fairbanks: 

"There  is  no  man  in  public  life  to  whom  the  to 
bacco  trade  is  under  greater  obligations  than  Senator 
Fairbanks,  the  nominee  of  the  Republican  party  for 
the  Vice-Presidency. 

"The  United  States  Tobacco  Journal  makes  this 


FAIRBANKS  249 

statement  deliberately  and  will  instantly  proceed  to 
prove  it.     ... 

"The  two-dollar  duty  passed  triumphantly  the 
House.  Only  the  Senate  was  then  left  for  a  renewed 
attempt  at  modification,  and  untiring  in  their  zeal 
the  Philadelphians  commenced  to  tackle  every  indi 
vidual  Senator.  Almost  the  first  and  only  one  who 
responded  with  a  receptive  mood  was  Senator 
Fairbanks,  from  Indiana.  Although  then  new  to 
his  Senatorial  toga  he  had  nevertheless  acquired  a  na 
tional  reputation  as  the  presiding  officer  of  the  con 
vention  which  nominated  William  McKinley  for  the 
Presidency.  In  his  first  interview  with  the  Phila 
delphians  the  Senator  frankly  confessed  his  absolute 
ignorance  of  the  merits  in  question ;  but  he  signified 
at  the  same  time  his  willingness  to  be  instructed. 
And  so  he  was,  and  in  less  than  no  time  he  became 
better  informed  on  it  than  any  other  member  of  Con 
gress.  He  then  went  to  work  with  the  Finance  Com 
mittee  to  consent  to  a  reduction  of  the  duty  to  $1.50. 
It  was  the  stiff est  kind  of  a  job  the  Senator  could 
have  undertaken,  as  the  influence  of  Senator  Orville 
H.  Platt,  from  Connecticut,  who  naturally  supported 
the  $2  rate  in  the  supposed  interest  of  the  Connecti 
cut  tobacco  growers;  seemed  to  be  paramount  in  that 
committee.  After  weeks  of  wrangling  and  haggling 
there  was  to  be  one  evening  a  meeting  of  the  Finance 
Committee  at  the  Arlington  Hotel  for  the  final  set 
tling  of  the  schedule  rates.  The  Philadelphians  were 


250  FAIRBANKS 

in  a  whirl  of  excitement,  crowding  the  lobby  of  the 
hotel  and  watching  for  the  assembling  of  the  com 
mittee.  Imagine  their  surprise,  therefore,  when  they 
saw  Senator  Fairbanks  coming  out  of  his  room  in  full 
evening  dress,  and,  instead  of  entering  the  committee 
room,  trying  to  leave  the  hotel !  He  was  at  once  be 
sieged  with  anxious  inquiries,  to  which  he  answered 
good  humoredly  and  reassuringly  that  he  was  'com 
manded'  to  dinner  with  the  President,  whose  com 
mand,  of  course,  he  could  not  disobey,  but  he  was 
provident  enough  to  get  beforehand  the  promise  of 
the  committee  that  they  would  wait  with  the  final 
fixing  of  the  tobacco  rates  till  he  should  return.  And 
promptly  at  10  o'clock  the  anxious  watchers  were  re 
warded  with  the  return  of  the  Senator,  who  at  once 
repaired  to  the  committee  room,  where  he  succeeded 
in  having  both  Platt  and  Dingley  defeated  in  the  ac 
ceptance  of  the  $1.50  rate  by  a  majority  vote. 

"These  are  the  unforgetable  services  of  Senator 
Fairbanks,  now  a  Vice-Presidential  candidate,  on  be 
half  of  the  tobacco  trade,  the  more  to  be  appreciated 
because  he  had  no  immediate  constituents  to  serve  in 
this  respect.  .  .  . 

"How  infinitely  more  is  it,  therefore,  to  the  credit 
of  Senator  Fairbanks  that  he  placed  himself  at  the 
service,  most  disinterestedly  and  most  courteously, 
of  men  who  were  not  even  his  constituents,  and  of  a 
cause  that  only  remotely  affected  a  not  altogether  too 


FAIEBANKS  251 

large  industry  in  his  own  State  ?  Such  a  service 
should  be  gratefully  remembered." 

When.   Senator  Fairbanks'   name  was  beino;  can- 

o  . 

vassed  as  a  probable  nominee  for  Vice-President  the 
New  York  Sun  was  not  disposed  to  cordially  support 
the  proposition.  A  few  days  after  the  Chicago  con 
vention  the  Sun  quoted  several  extracts  from  the 
maiden  speech  of  the  Senator,  and  followed  with 
these  remarks : 

"We  take  this  speech  by  Mr.  Fairbanks  as  an  illus 
tration  of  his  habits  of  thought  and  direct  methods 
of  expression.  We  choose  this  particular  speech  for 
these  reasons : 

"1.  This  was  his  maiden  speech  in  Congress,  and 
it  is  on  the  occasion  of  a  first  appearance  that  an  or 
ator  is  most  likely  to  trim  or  hesitate  or  wabble,  if  he 
is  congenitally  and  habitually  a  trimmer,  a  wabbler 
or  a  moral  stutterer. 

"2.  The  speech  concerned  a  crucial  question  of  na 
tional  policy,  obtruded  a  year  before  it  actually  went 
to  the  arbitrament  of  war ;  and  historical  events  since 
the  expressions  of  these  opinions  therefore  afford  a 
ready  test  of  Senator  Fairbanks'  prescience,  his  good 
sense  and  his  patriotic  courage. 

"3.  It  contained  a  manly  appeal  to  those  Kepub- 
licans  in  the  Senate  who  had  different  opinions  of 
duty  and  policy  regarding  Cuba,  to  stand  by  the  St. 
Louis  platform  and  redeem  its  pledges  honestly,  fear 
lessly,  faithfully. 


252  FAIRBANKS 

"Do  these  passages  we  have  quoted  above  read  like 
the  utterances  of  a  weakling  ?  Do  they  betray  a  bur 
rowing,  Machiavellian,  sophistical  or  an  evasive  and 
colorless  sort  of  mind  ?  Not  a  bit  of  it !  Mr.  Fair 
banks'  words  on  this  great  subject  went  straight  and 
rang  clear." 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWS 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 

L  -  -.  — 

4DecWw1f 


REC'D  UD 


General  Library    . 
University  of  California 
Berkeley 


YC  51353 


M62473 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


